Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Eugene

(61,592 posts)
Mon Oct 23, 2017, 11:42 AM Oct 2017

D.E.A. Says Hondurans Opened Fire During a Drug Raid. A Video Suggests Otherwise.

Source: New York Times

D.E.A. Says Hondurans Opened Fire During a Drug Raid. A Video Suggests Otherwise.

By MATTATHIAS SCHWARTZ OCT. 23, 2017

WASHINGTON — The Drug Enforcement Administration has for five years steadfastly defended the behavior of its agents in a late-night drug seizure carried out with Honduran forces on the remote Mosquito Coast, a mission that resulted in the deaths of four Honduran civilians.

In the D.E.A.’s view, the dead — one man, two women and a 14-year-old boy — were among those on a boat that shot at a canoe carrying a joint D.E.A.-Honduran antidrug team. The D.E.A. said it had evidence in the form of night-vision video taken from a surveillance plane showing an “exchange of gunfire” between the two vessels after the larger boat collided with the canoe carrying the agents.

Now, for the first time, the three-hour video has been released to the public. It strongly suggests that the D.E.A.’s account of crossfire in the May 2012 mission was not accurate. The release of the video, under a Freedom of Information Act request, follows a scathing report published by the inspectors general of the departments of Justice and State earlier this year that challenged the D.E.A.’s version of events.

The video shows numerous flashes of light consistent with gunshots originating from the antidrug unit, according to Bruce Koenig, a forensic expert hired by ProPublica and The New York Times to analyze the images.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/world/americas/drug-enforcement-agency-dea-honduras.html

1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
D.E.A. Says Hondurans Opened Fire During a Drug Raid. A Video Suggests Otherwise. (Original Post) Eugene Oct 2017 OP
the war on drugs is as corrupt as the illegal drug industry nt HopeAgain Oct 2017 #1
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»D.E.A. Says Hondurans Ope...