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Subscribe to RSSTravelers run for cover as federal officers are killed by cops suspected of drug trafficking. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
MEXICO CITY -- Three policemen died in a shootout with two other officers suspected of drug trafficking at Mexico City's airport on Monday, as panicked travelers scrambled for cover in the busy facility.
The shootout occurred when three federal officers approached the two suspects in the airport's Terminal 2, which handles international and domestic flights. Two agents were killed at the terminal and another later died of his injuries in hospital.
More than a dozen shots were heard, Milenio Television reported. Television footage showed a body lying on the floor of the terminal in what appeared to be a publicly accessible area of the airport.
Three shots rang out at first, witness Israel Lopez, a 23-year-old Mexico City student who had gone to the airport to see off a friend, told The Associated Press. Lopez didn't see who those shots were directed at, but then the gunfire came closer.
Alfredo Estrella / AFP - Getty Images
Federal Police officers stand guard at an entrance near the fast-food area of Benito Juarez international airport Terminal 2, in Mexico City, where two police officers were shot dead and a third was wounded on Monday. Airport spokesman Jorge Andres Gomez said authorities are going through the security cameras to know the exact events of the shooting.
"We were in the food court, and some policemen came in and started shooting at another policeman who was on the floor," Lopez told the AP. "We dove to the floor and covered ourselves with chairs."
Lopez said the shooters wore blue uniforms like those of federal police who provide security at the airport. He said the shooters then ran to the parking area "as if they were pursuing somebody," and he lost sight of them.
'One of the safest places'
Robert Gray, an evangelical missionary from Hart, Michigan, but who has lived with his family in the city of Puebla for the past four years, arrived at the airport after the shooting with his wife, two daughters and son to catch a flight back to the U.S. to visit family.
"It's surprising to see it happening at the airport. It's one of the safest places in the city," Gray told the AP.
The suspects, who remain at large, are believed to be part of a larger group of officials involved in a cocaine ring, Mexico's security ministry said in a statement.
"The Federal Police has identified the two officers who opened fire and several investigative units are now focused on capturing them," the federal Public Safety Department said in a statement.
14 mutilated corpses, threat message to drug cartel found in Mexican city
Airport spokesman Jorge Gomez told Milenio that aircraft departures and arrivals continued normally after the incident.
The airport said in a press statement that the terminal and flights were operating normally following what it described as "a dispute in an open-access area." But the food court remained blocked to public access for hours after the shooting.
Mexico's drug war is also part of a drug culture with roots in music, movies and even religion
Mexico City has seen relatively low murder rates compared to the rest of the country, where drug violence has killed around 55,000 people in the past five-and-a-half years.
Severed heads
But attacks have been creeping up in the capital and its surrounding neighborhoods, with more than 300 gangland killings recorded last year.
Mexico's airports and ports are busy areas for drug smugglers. So far this year federal police have seized more than 440 pounds of cocaine at the capital's airport, double the amount taken there last year.
Alfredo Estrella / AFP - Getty Images
A passenger speaks on her cellphone at Benito Juarez international airport Terminal 2, in Mexico City, where two police officers were shot dead and a third was wounded on Monday.
In 2007, the severed heads of three employees of a customs brokerage firm were found near the airport and in the nearby state of Mexico.
The decapitations were apparently retaliation for the seizure of a half-ton of Colombian cocaine at the airport, officials said at the time.
Mexico got wrong man in high-profile drug arrest
In 2008, federal police chief Edgar Millan was gunned down inside his Mexico City home, and one of the suspects in that killing had worked as an anti-drug officer at the Mexico City airport.
The suspect had a notebook with detailed information on drug trafficking at the airport, and officials said federal investigations into those operations may have been a key motive for Millan's killing.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Stay out of this s h i t h o l e of a country....
post the majority of our troops right along the border. pull out some land mines, and turn the border into another DMZ....that'll stop the illegals from coming over. Then, with all the troops. systematically work our way from the norther edge to the southern edge and begin wiping out ALL the cartels and their members. Anyone found involved with drugs and or drug running, place a bullet right between their eyes. Honestly, I am sure there are those who have NOTHING to do with drugs so they would probably be quick to stay out of harms way. Yeah, there would be some collateral damage, it happens, but the only way to stop these drugs, is to kill all those involved, no court, nothing, shot on the spot. That would begin to send a clear message that we DO NOT want that crap here and we are tired of it. You would think that a country that is the second biggest supplier to the US, when it comes to oil, would be a little more willing to clean up its country and do when needs to be done. If they did that, many of the illegals we have would probably go back, jobs would be better, and life a little more enjoyable. Mexico can be and really is a beautiful country in many areas. It's full of such interesting history, it boggles the mind to think that it has degraded so far and in to such a bit of chaos. Drugs and terrible and the coutry could be great, if they only took pride and were willing to clean up what they have.
Wow....soooo many fox trolls...why the influx...slow day on Hannitty?? Or did Fox and Friends suggest you guys come over here and poop on anything remotely related to Obama and Holder?? Seriously. I used to read the comments here on msnbc as at one point they would provide some additional intelligent observations and links that would contribute to the body of the article. But lately (as in now) I see ignorant ramblings and flame starters. To those that blame Obama...Bush admin started the gun sell(which btw fast and furious was not even mentioned in the srticle) 2- Obama has done NOTHING to strip you Naysayers of your 2nd amendment rights.
It amazes me how ignorant you people that troll here are...if you want to post a link that supports your flimsy conspiracy theory then you should be at least smart enough to google ALL the TRUTH ...not just your "bubble" of reality.
And to those that say it is "OUR FAULT" if we smoke marijuana ...we have been trying to get it legalized for years...it is virtually a onestop way of solving our economic crisis...and don't think for a minute that the big tobacco industries are not secretly chomping at the bit to jump into this bed with growing it...it would take them very little manpower and finances to flip the tobacco field to hemp fields.
And to those that spoke of prohibition...do your history homework please... More corrupt politician/police/judges and whatnot thrived during those times...not to mention the rise of the mafia and of wanton deaths that occurred over alcohol... A substance so addicting and so hazardous to your health yet we eventually bowed and legalized it again. Call it population control... DUI's and alcohol related killings and abuse amongst Americans is hella higher than anything you can attribute marijuana to. You can not have a DUI while just high...impact at 15 miles per hour does minimal damage...and if you are just smoking marijuana and own a gun... you are just to mellow to shoot someone. It takes to much effort.
Just sayin..
So true, So true! Have you read The Emperor wears no clothes? Good history behind the criminilzation. Hemp fields are alive and well on the east. Problem is that no THC in it. Sure is good for writing the declartion of independence on. oh, and Betsy's flag. Ridiculous we cant even grow hemp for fiber due to three bad eggs. Hearst, Dupont and Anslinger propoganda. And still not legal to grow for anything. They just cant kill it. You are right about the tobacco companies. I heard they have already built a huge greenhouse.
Sounds to me like OH!MAMA'S and Holder's gun walking, "Fast and Furious" operation WAS a success. Otherwise those two sorry a$$es might have been captured... lol. Thanks you guys for providing superior firepower to those drug runners south of our border, a$$holes!
this is why protecting the borders is so important
corruption and crime run so rampant in mexico,it is scary who can cross into America
we need troops on our borders, not in far away lands for no reason.
Is this the kind of lifestyle Obama wants for America? I also wonder how the Supreme Court Justices who voted to shut down most of the Arizona Immigration law could have a peaceful night of sleep. Maybe they do not have consciences. Also with Obama and his Administratio now saying that they will ignore Arizona with its only legal provision left. This is such childish behavior on Obama and his administration. Is this the type of government we want because it will destroy our country. I think Obama has an agenda and this agenda is not good for our country. How can someone vote for this man when day by day we see him destroying our American way of life. COME ON PEOPLE WAKE UP.....OBAMA IS DESTROYING OUR GREAT COUNTRY!!!!!!!
I also think its about time that term limits are set for these Supreme Court Justices. As far as I am concerned these lifetime positions have become political and that is not abiding with the constitution. Time to change this because they are suppose to be ruling based on our constitution and not on politics.
ok...lets fact check again fox news troll.....Under Obama's admin illegal border crossings are at the LOWEST EVER!! Border patrol agents has doubled nearly tripled...and where in the article does it mention illegal imagration?? Seriously...if you are here you must watch some of msnbc's shows...they happen to report waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more facts than rhetoric...as opposed to Fox News..some of these facts have been mentioned. open your eyes and learn a little please..for humanities sake if not for your childrens(if god forbid you have any)
It may be the lifestyle we end up with in America if the income gap between rich and poor continues to grow.
They should hunt down and kill all of the drug dealers in Mexico, because they are not just drug dealers, they are murdering scumbags of the worst kind.
jim grotto
Yes the MEXICAN authorities should.
I have been to mexico once and its a p.o.s. country, wont ever go back.. no wonder the mexicans keep trying to escape it! If only we could just teach them to do it with some intelligence, class, and morals =}
And you want to let Mexicans cross into our country,,,,,hell no!!!
we need troops on our borders, not boyscots in green uniforms. We are fighting abroad in other nations for what???? when our country is being over run by Mexicans crossing borders here. Go try and cross into mexico without a passport and you will get shot. It is time that we takes this stance also. shoot to kill!
The richest man in the world is living in Mexico. Does he alleviate the countries poor? No. Does he exploit his country and its people? Yes. So instead of taking this scumbag out they come here and with them comes the ignorance and crime. Mexican police kill mexican police in a airport full of people. Do I need to say anything else?
wait,,,,,wait a minute!!! who will clean our sht houses, serve us our McD's and pick our fruit,,,,,,,,sho won't be a white boy does this!!!!!!
A human view
I don't know where you go to McDonald's or who does your janitorial but I see a melting pot where I am. Quite a few 4 year degree types flipping burgers or managing them these days.
trust,,,,,,,not in california,,,,,all wet backs here, a white man could not even get these jobs either.
And obummer wants to give amnesty to these animals, soon enough you wont have to cross the borders to see this type of behavior, its coming to mexamerica, what a fool!
Jaymar, what you expect out of this fool,,,,,,and the Dream carries on!
coming??? where do you live Fox trolls... I am tired of this ignorant exchange of inbred republicans coming here to try to speak yet instead fart out their words... you types..like you and "a human view"(please) , have trolled this site to the point where intelligent debate has turned into namecalling and ignorant rants...and my frustration with your type has now brought me down to your levels to participate via your style...it smells like poop at your level... I am bugging out.
Next chance I get, I'm moving to Canada.
Please pass me the tacos, beans and the rice. oink, oink.
Did they use guns supplied by Holder and Obama? Obama has declared war on Arizona.
There's a real war right across our border, the lack of action from DC is insane.
First we need to legalize weed and treat it like alcohol. Bust illegal growers and smugglers like we did moonshiners. Get BATFE to do that, get them of guns because they are useless at that, and back to doing their thing like they did against moonshine. Rename them BATEC - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives and Cannabis. Gun stuff can go to the Secret Service. Require marijuana sold legally in the US ot be grown in the US under supervision by licensed producers. Other producers, with the exception of people with one or two plants for personal use, get busted. That's fair.
Tax the legally grown and sold stuff to fund programs to help people get off harder stuff that is smuggled into the US like coke or heroin, and off the more "modern" stuff like meth and perscription crap, and get a cohesive policy in DC for helping the Mexicans who want to fight the gangs in their country. The last part is most important. I have heard of no national policy in DC to help Mexico fight this war at all. Except the US Gov't sending more guns to the drug gangs with Fast and Furious to get more Mexicans killed. Which isn't exactly the right idea to help stop the gangs.
David, thats what you get when we elect a boy in the house to do a mans job.
do not re-elect this azz hole again.
Well bright BOI we had two bushes and a ray-gun that didn't do any better and they started the "war on drugs" How's that "Just say NO" working?
Would someone please tell me why we want more of this sh**hole country coming here? Declare war on the country, and post the military at the border, and shoot any invaders. Otherwise the 3rd world scum will poison the US more than it already has.
You know, every one here has a point of view, be it right or wrong. That is what makes us all Americans. How about if someone makes a statement on or about this or another article, and you're not happy with it, fine, counter it with yours and be a little more polite about it and don't stop calling names people. We all know that it is IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone. Be you black, white, latino, europian, independent, republican, or democrat...unless you're illegal, we are all Americans and we all have a right to our own points of veiw on ALL subjects. Stop trying to tell people they are wrong about their point of view...who knows, YOU may be the one who is in the wrong. If my history serves me correctly, there was a time when the people of the world thought the Earth was flat...hmmm, I sure guess they were wrong. Now a days, there are all these people out there who seem to think CO2 is a pullutant...I don't agree, crap, if we stopped all CO2 emissions, what are the trees and plants of the world gonna do, seeing as how they take in the CO2 and produce OXYGEN for all of us. See my point and how simple things are, in MY OPINION. Yes, I'm off subject from the article, but the point is, someone called my opinion stupid and dumb...fine, go ahead. But be respectful of others...that's what is wrong with out society now a days. Allow others to voice what they have to say. Remember the Golden Rule and Decency!
GREG, say that to the mexicans in this country BUD!!! they fly the flag of the Mexican country, not the USA.......get your head outa your azz and see what is happening to this once great nation.
Greg I sincerely hope you were not referring to me...my comment was posted after yours to the thread...not to you... your comment was insightful and brought intelligent points to the table...UNLIKE others here that are only here for their personal agenda...whatever that agenda may be. So I hope your post did not refer to me personally. I did not call you out nor attack your comment directly..only to those that seem to spell Obama wrong or thrust immigration and fast and furious into an article that mentions neither.
@ Human view...
I'm well aware of what is happening in our great nation and it sickens me...it was a point of being considerate of another comment and their thoughts, not what is happening with the illegal problem we are having...which I detest.
@lost...
Lord no, I wasn't commenting about you...it was in regards to a post i placed much earlier, and to all of those who call names and try to FORCE their views upon others. This is America, a land of what is suppose to be FREEDOM to express our views without ugliness. Thanks, and I hope you didn't take this directed at you. Just to those who want to be ugly.
greg that is good to know... I appreciate you replying..Like I said you brought up points in an intelligent and thoughtful manner which as I said in my original post was something I used to enjoy was reading comments on msnbc ...though they may points I may agree or disagree with at least at one time they were done here in an educated and respectful way, unlike on some other sites(fox).. However lately it seems that msnbc has been besieged by people that have either taken the red pill or ripped a page from the trollers handbook and reduced this site to one of namecalling, smearing, and spouting of lies to further some agenda. I think you can read this thread and figure out who and what types I speak of. Bringing up issues that are not even discussed in the article, misspelling of our POTUS, stating "facts" that can easily be dispelled by one google search...just to name a few. I also find it ironic that when I post some "factchecks" or when others do try to do so..instead of getting a reply to prove me/others wrong or right they continue with their rant..it sickens me to see this as a baseline for what Americans are thinking. And it makes me so angry at times that at some point I result to their tactics...which I guess is their motivation..so at some point they succeed in bringing the troll out of all of us... yet I still spell republican correctly.. and fox news lol..
I dont think you are stupid! And I like your point. I tried to make the same. It saddens me more then angers me that people on this thread are not only hateful and racist but dont seem to understand that our families all came here from another country unless they are all full blooded indians??? ya think? And same with Mexican people. The Spaniards conquered Mexico which were all Indian too. Very in touch with astrology and a proud hard working nation. I always really enjoy my stays in Mexico. The people are helpful and eager to please. I got married in Cancun and we met a man that took us all over to find me a dress. They set up everything and adored my baby girl. I love the people and thier love of family and faith. I am not religious but I respect it. And... I respect your opinion as well. Thank you for your comment
stop this we are at falt just legalize drugs hear you cant stop some one from using them just help them when thay want to stop.
Thqank you SCOTUS for gutting the Arizona immigration law! In the face of this clear and present danger to the security of the United States of America--right on our own border--you pansies just welcome this savage, atavistic narco culture with open arms.
God help us all!!!
Dont do drugs and this problem will go away. Remember...Cocaine is bad for you!
Get stright America and "they" will not have a market for the drugs to be sold.
Spend your money on somthing positive and healty.
Everytime one purchases drugs someone will die somplace because of that purchase.
Live healty, simple and clean. Thats the secret of life!
Ya know if all the jerks that go to Mexico for vacation so much would just find another place to go before they become a statistic there. We are the stupid ones building their tourism meanwhile their government cannot stop the crime and drug cartels from prospering.
Well, I see the "intelligent & insightful" i.e.., the Archie Bunker/Frank Burns conservatives are at their keyboards again, casting aspersions, and laying blame. When are you going to stop ranting, and start laying that minefield along the U.S./Mexican border?
Yes, drug cartels have bought USA government officials, that's why drugs won't be legal in the United States of America. Obama wants all Mexicans to stay here, legal or illegal, why? It's not just for the votes!
Have you SEEN the accompanying slide show? These are the people who are coming across our borders. And of course being courted and pandered to by the Democrats and leftist organizations. My God.