US consular official shot in Mexico

waltky · Jan 7, 2017

Just the ticket for goin' into Mexico and wipin' out the drug cartels...

Gunman shoots, wounds U.S. consular official in Mexico
January 7, 2017 -- Mexican prosecutors said Saturday they are searching for a gunman who opened fire on an official of the U.S. Consulate in the western city of Guadalajara.

The Attorney General’s Office said Saturday the official was wounded in the attack Friday in Guadalajara -- and the U.S. Consulate said on its Facebook and Twitter pages that the FBI was offering a $20,000 reward for information on the attacker. Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco state, which is dominated by the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation cartel. There was no immediate evidence of any cartel link to the attack. Surveillance video of the attack shows the gunman following the official in a parking garage. The official, whose name was not released, was dressed in shorts. The shooting appeared to be a direct attempt to kill the consular employee.

In the video, the attacker doesn’t appear to try to approach the official while he is walking, but instead waits for him to exit the parking garage in his vehicle and fires a round into the car’s windshield. The U.S. Consulate posted several clips of CCTV video related to the incident on its Facebook page. Guadalajara is Mexico’s second largest city and is not specifically singled out for any special precautions in the latest U.S. travel warning updated on Dec. 8.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said that for privacy reasons no further information would be made available on the victim, including his condition. “The safety and security of our employees overseas is among our highest priorities,” said an embassy spokeswoman who was not authorized to be quoted by name. “We are working closely with Mexican law enforcement in this matter.” The Attorney General’s Office said the victim was in “stable” condition and under protection, apparently at a local hospital. The office said the case was being handled by federal detectives. An attack on diplomatic personnel would be considered a federal crime in Mexico. U.S. consular employees and other U.S. agents have been attacked in Mexico in the past; the attackers have usually argued the attacks were cases of mistaken identity.

In 2014, a Mexican gang leader was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2010 slayings in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, of a U.S. Consulate employee, her husband and the husband of another employee. Prosecutors said Arturo Gallegos Castrellon was in charge of a team of assassins with the Barrio Azteca, a gang allied with the Juarez drug cartel, and had ordered the three slayings. The killings of U.S. Consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton, her husband, Arthur Redfels, and Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of another consulate employee, as they left a children’s birthday party were a mistake, former gang members testified during the trial. Redfels was driving a white SUV that was very similar to a vehicle that Gallegos Castrellon had marked as a target for his team of assassins because they thought it belonged to members of the rival Sinaloa cartel.

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waltky · Jan 8, 2017

Suspect caught in US consular shooting...

Mexican agents catch man who shot US consular official
Jan 8,`17 -- Prosecutors in Mexico said Sunday they caught a gunman who shot an official of the U.S. consulate in the western city of Guadalajara.

The Attorney General's Office of the western state of Jalisco said in the agency's Twitter account that the suspect had been turned over to federal prosecutors. Attacks on diplomats are federal crimes in Mexico. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement thanking Mexico for the quick arrest. "On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I want to thank the Government of Mexico for their swift and decisive arrest of a suspect in the heinous attack against our Foreign Service Officer colleague," Kerry said. "My thoughts and prayers remain with this officer and his family during this difficult time. I wish him a speedy recovery."

The U.S. embassy has not identified the official, who was shot in his car Friday in Guadalajara. He was in stable condition Saturday after the attack. Local media identified him as Christopher Ashcraft, whose profile on social networking sites listed him as a consular officer in Guadalajara since 2016. The FBI had offered a $20,000 reward for information on the attacker, and surveillance cameras photos of him had been widely circulated. Jalisco state is dominated by the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation cartel. There was no immediate evidence of any cartel link to the attack.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City urged citizens to limit their movements in the Guadalajara area. "As the investigation into the January 6 shooting of the U.S. Consulate employee continues, U.S citizens in the Guadalajara area are urged to restrict their movements outside their homes and places of work to those truly essential," according to the Embassy security message. "They should also take care not to fall into predictable patterns for those movements that are essential," the statement continued. "They should vary the times and routes of their movements."

It was unclear if that was a reference to the apparent stalking of the U.S. consular employee by the gunman, and what appeared to be a direct attempt to kill him. Surveillance video of the attack shows the gunman following the official in a parking garage. The official was dressed in shorts. The attacker doesn't appear to try to approach the official while he is walking, but instead waits for him to exit the parking garage in his vehicle and fires a round into the car's windshield. U.S. consular employees and other U.S. agents have been attacked in Mexico in the past; the attackers have usually argued the attacks were cases of mistaken identity.

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waltky · Jan 10, 2017

Suspect in US consular official shooting deported from Mexico...

Suspect in attack on US official sent out of Mexico
Jan 10,`17) -- The U.S. citizen arrested by Mexican authorities in connection with last week's shooting of a U.S. consular official in Guadalajara has been sent out of Mexico, the federal Attorney General's Office said late Monday.

Its statement did not reveal where the suspect was sent, saying only that he was repatriated in coordination with U.S. authorities and in accordance with Mexican law. It said Mexican authorities would continue their investigation into the incident. The statement did not give the suspect's name, but an official with the Attorney General's Office earlier identified him as Zia Zafar, a U.S. citizen. The official agreed to discuss the situation only if not quoted by name because the details had not been formally released.

The victim of the shooting survived the attack Friday. Neither Mexican nor U.S. officials released the victim's name, but local media have identified him as Christopher Ashcraft. Ashcraft is listed on social networking sites as a consular officer in Guadalajara since 2016. An American official in the United States who had seen a written summary of the investigation said authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting. The official said a preliminary investigation found the suspect had mental health issues. The U.S. official wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and agreed to speak to the AP only on condition of anonymity.

The official said the victim was recovering at a medical facility in Guadalajara and was in "stable condition" Monday. Surveillance video of the attack shows a man with dark hair and sunglasses shoot into the official's car as it exited an underground parking garage. The attacker then runs away. After the attack, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City urged citizens to limit their exposure in Guadalajara. "They should also take care not to fall into predictable patterns for those movements that are essential," the statement continued. "They should vary the times and routes of their movements." On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement thanking Mexico for the quick arrest.

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US consular official shot in Mexico

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