Two Americans shot in Mexico CIA operatives: Report

A report says the two Americans injured in a gun attack on a US Embassy vehicle in Mexico were CIA agents, and had been sent to the Latin American country to bolster Mexican efforts to fight drug traffickers.

The operatives, who were hurt south of Mexico City on August 24, were participating in a training program that involved the Mexican Navy, The New York Times reported.

They were traveling with a Mexican Navy captain in an embassy sport utility vehicle that had diplomatic license plates.

The two were traveling on the Tres Marias-Huitzilac highway, and leading from Mexico City to Cuernavaca — the capital of the state of Morelos and situated 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Mexico City — when their armored vehicle was fired upon by Mexican federal police officers.

The Mexican Navy said in a Tuesday statement that an American was driving the car, and that during the attack the captain, who was handling logistics and translating for the men, remained in the back seat calling for help on his cellphone.

American investigators are working with Mexican authorities to determine what happened and whether the police officers involved were corrupt.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said no evidence has emerged so far that the Americans were targeted because of their affiliation to the CIA.

Drug violence has reportedly killed more than 50,000 people since former President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against Mexico’s cartels, when he took office in December 2006.

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