MEXICO CITY - Mexican police seized an arsenal of illegal weapons including hand grenades and arrested two suspected drug hitmen in a shootout in the border city of Matamoros that cost the life of a federal agent, prosecutors announced Friday.
The assailants _ believed to be members of the notorious “Zeta” gang employed by the Gulf drug cartel _ were carrying nine assault rifles, four hand grenades, several pistols and thousands of rounds of ammunition in their van.
“The firearms could be linked to other violent acts along the border ... in particular, with recent executions,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a press statement.
The confrontation early Thursday in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, was taped in a dramatic video released by police; police can be seen approaching the vehicle amid a hail of machine gun fire.
The Attorney General’s Office said the shootout began when agents detected a bulletproof van whose license plates corresponded to a car stolen near Mexico City.
The vehicle’s occupants opened fire on police when they tried to stop the van.
Rodela Rosas was hit in the chest by a bullet and later died of his wounds.
“The best homage we can pay to those who have lost their lives in this fight against crime is to redouble our efforts,” Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca said at a memorial service in Mexico City for the dead agent, Martin Rodela Rosas.
“Martin was part of a new generation of agents,” Cabeza de Vaca said. “He was an honest man, who put all his effort and ability into his work.”
The Zetas are led by a group of military deserters believed to be loyal to imprisoned Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas.
The two men arrested were identified as Fredy Chabelas Lara, alias “El Loco,” or the Crazy One, and Raul Garcia Martinez, alias “Tony Tormenta,” or Tony The Storm.
They are being held in Mexico City on suspicion of illegal weapons possession and other charges.