WORLD BRIEFING / MEXICO
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Mexican authorities have detained 12 federal police investigators accused of leaking information to hit men who ambushed and killed eight police officers in a failed attempt to free a high-level drug cartel member, the attorney general’s office said.
A judge ordered the 12 suspects held for 40 days to allow prosecutors to gather evidence. Authorities say a preliminary investigation indicated that the officers gave vital information to assailants who attacked a prisoner transfer convoy April 19, killing four federal police officers, two federal investigative agents and two prison employees.
The 12 suspects worked as investigators for Mexico’s Federal Agency of Investigations, the country’s equivalent of the FBI, the attorney general’s office said.
The officers were transferring Jeronimo Gamez, a key member of the Beltran Leyva cartel who is believed to have been in charge of negotiating deals with Colombian traffickers.
At least 20 assailants launched a running gun battle between an airport and penitentiary in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit.
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