DEA under inquiry for shooting deaths during Honduran drug patrol [View all]

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http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/05/24/inenglish/1337866351_754993.html



The US Drug Enforcement Administration has come under fire in the Central American nation of Honduras where agents, actively participating with local police officers in rural patrols, formed part of a team that was involved in an attack on a small ferry boat that left four people dead and several wounded.

The pre-dawn raid on May 11 in the Ahuas sector in the Gracias a Díos department is under investigation by Honduran authorities. Wounded survivors said they were traveling on the Patuca River when helicopters appeared at around 3am and began shooting at them without any provocation.

The DEA has said that its agents were on board the helicopters chasing a ferry boat full of traffickers but did not actually fire their guns. Rather, it was the Honduran police who began shooting after being shot at first from the ferry boat, the DEA has stated.

The US government is cooperating with Honduran authorities in the ongoing investigation, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday.