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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Gunmen attack U.S. diplomatic vehicle in Mexico |
| 2012-08-24 |
| Unknown gunmen attacked an American diplomatic vehicle south of Mexico City, injuring three people, a Mexican military official told CNN Mexico. The motive behind the attack on the U.S. vehicle, which was on a diplomatic mission, was not immediately known. Gunmen inside what was described as a Mexican federal police vehicle fired upon a U.S. Embassy vehicle, said the official, who declined to be named for security reasons. The Mexican official said three Mexican marines were injured in the shooting. However, there were conflicting reports. Some Mexican reports stated that two of the injured were Americans. The injured passengers were transported to a hospital in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed that a U.S. diplomatic vehicle was "shot up" in Mexico, but said no DEA officers were involved in the incident. The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reports, but had no immediate comment. |
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| #7 Yeah - I do remember that disaster where the Italian special forces were killed. Not good. Actually, that's a very good analogy to what happened here. It appears to be a similar mistake of identity. What's strange here is that the US contingent had a Mexican marine travelling with them as an advisor. Aren't these Mexican forces communicating by radio's ?? That's the part that I don't get. At least our guys weren't killed, and they should recover. Getting shot in the stomach is not a picnic, though. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-08-24 23:49 |
| #6 Driving a type of car favored by the cartel creates IFF* problems. Anyone remember the Italians in Iraq who dropped the bag money to pick up the 'kidnapped' journalist only to drive high speed to the airport and into a checkpoint looking for terrorists, who employed high speed vehicles to deliver car bombs? *Identification Friend or Foe |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-08-24 22:02 |
| #5 Looks like most hits on the sides of the SUV were ricochets. Biggest penetration is thru rear window. If last post is right ... doesn't seem like the bulletproof glass performed adequately for shots coming from the rear. Tires of the vehicle were sht out - but that's probably part of the standard procedure. If this is due to a failure in communications with Mex police - this is a big WHOOPS to say the least. The Marine who was injured was apparently a Mexican marine, and not an American. Seems like his communications were spotty as well. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-08-24 20:38 |
| #4 It appears a Policia Federal (PF) patrol spotted the SUV, assumed it was packed with bad guys, and contrary to the ROEs, fired on the vehicle. It was one US Marine and two DoS personnel who were in the vehicle, and who were wounded. The members of the PF group which fired on the vehicle are already detained and probably facing prison time. As I understand it, when Mexican security forces encounter a very nice SUV, their shooters are already locked and loaded, waiting for the order to fire. The rules are if the driver resists orders or signals to stop, security forces will open fire. Those rules are in effect for Army personnel so dunno if PF have applied them as well. As it is, the rules were written last spring to reflect actual practice in the field. It appeared the driver swerved off the road when he saw a vehicle with armed personnel prompting the PF to fire. Typically PF shooters are armed with 5.56mm M4 assault rifles. Some patrol have snipers with NATO 7.62mm (.308), and to a lesser extent, the G3, also .308. |
| Posted by: badanov 2012-08-24 20:09 |
| #3 MORE: Looks like vehicle took about 6 shots thru rear window, but probably took more fire on sides. A lot of armored SUV's can handle 30-cal rifle fire, but the ballistic glass will not handle 7.62 armor piercing rounds. Just a wild guess .. but these assailants seemed to have a good understanding of what it would take to penetrate the protection on this SUV carrying Americans. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-08-24 18:55 |
| #2 UPDATE: At least 6 six shots penetrated the American SUV which was armored. The vehicle was on a dirt road going to a military installation south of Mexico City. It was fired on by gunmen in a second vehicle - who seemed to know their target. Subsequently, several vehicles showed up from the Mexican Federal Police, then joined in the fire, and apparently also hit the American SUV with their shots. There seems to have been a breakdown in communication amongst Mex police about who the real bad guys were. The actual bad guys left the scene and were not apprehended (suspicious!). One US citizen was shot in the stomach and the hand, a second was shot in the leg. Both taken to hospital. Like most reports from Mex ... this initial info lacks a lot of details, and may change substantially once investigated. This is just what is known now. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-08-24 18:34 |
| #1 The motive behind the attack on the U.S. vehicle, which was on a diplomatic mission, was not immediately known. Prolly a car jacking |
| Posted by: badanov 2012-08-24 17:47 |