Mexico President Felipe Calderon expresses regret over US Embassy vehicle shooting

GlobalPost

Mexican President Felipe Calderon today expressed his “deep” regret at the shooting of a US Embassy vehicle last Friday, as investigators considered the possibility that the attack by federal police was deliberate.

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In his first public comments since the incident, Calderon told US Ambassador to Mexico Anthony Wayne that local authorities would get to the bottom of the shooting, which injured two US Embassy employees, La Jornada reported.

The two US government workers and a Mexican navy captain were driving to a military installation south of Mexico City when Mexican federal police started firing on them on a dirt road.

The US Embassy vehicle, which carried diplomatic plates, returned to the highway where another three cars joined the pursuit and opened fire.

Reuters reported that the police were wearing civilian clothes.

"We can't allow these things to happen, whether it is because of negligence, lack of training, lack of trust or complicity," Calderon said.

"Fighting organized crime and drug trafficking is a job that the Mexican government cannot do alone. It is a problem we must fight together."

Al Jazeera quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying the two US Embassy employees had been transferred to the United States for treatment.

On Monday, a judge ordered the 12 federal police involved in the shooting held in detention for 40 days while investigators work out if the incident was a botched car chase or something sinister.

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