The Vehicle Ambush and Assassination of Rodolfo Torre Cantu

 

Rodolfo Torre Cantu was a physician and politician running for governor of the Mexican State of Tamaulipas. While driving in a non-armored two vehicle scenario he was ambushed and assassinated. Shortly after the attack I was presenting at the 2010 ESI conference with fellow ESI board member Rodrigo Munoz. Rodrigo, who lives and works in Mexico, had access to information concerning the attack that at the time others did not have. Along with detailed photos taken at the ambush scene we had video from a gas station surveillance camera. Although the video was taken from a relatively long distance we were able to watch the beginning stages of the ambush.

ESI’s Bob Duggan, Rodrigo and I spent hours reviewing the information; we sent the data to Joe Autera and Larry Side of VDI. By combining the forensic data with Bob and Rodrigo’s working knowledge of the security scenario in that part of Mexico we managed to put together a time line of what happened seconds prior to the incident. At the time the conclusions were distributed on a need to know basis. For a variety of reasons up until now it was kept under wraps.

Conclusions

The attackers used a lead surveillance vehicle as a method of controlling the speed of the two car convoy therefor setting up the speed at which the two car convoy entered the kill zone.

Looking at the timing of the ambush, the design of the kill zone, and the implementation of the event, the best estimate is that the surveillance phase of the planning consumed 15 to 30 days, another of the many examples that point to the importance of Surveillance Detection.

The attackers maneuvered their vehicles, approximately six cars, with the precision of a well-organized team. That takes skill, practice and planning, and those that engineered the ambush had extensive training in ambush and surveillance techniques.

Lessons learned – they never seem to change

Surveillance Detection is the most import skill one can acquire – in this case it was not only the best protection it could have been the only protection.

The value of a trained security team and security driver is directly proportional to the risk; Dr. Cantu simply did not believe he was at risk, which made the attacker’s job easy.

In a high to moderate risk environment armored vehicles are a must – but in this case they had the Dr. Cantu’s group trapped in a kill zone, once the vehicle or vehicles are stopped in the Kill Zone the chances of survival are greatly diminished.

Probably the best lessons learned from this event is what can happen when ego’s and credit are left at the door, and when training organizations cooperate with each other with the goal of creating information that will help the community. And do something that is unheard of in the industry – keep their mouths shut.

Another ambush with a different result – The attack on US Embassy personnel in Mexico

The recent attack on US Embassy personnel in Mexico is well document – I have attached an excellent You Tube Video by Fred Burton from Strafor – but I want to concentrate on the driver and the vehicle – without getting to technical he did well, coupled with being in an armored vehicle his actions saved their life’s.

The driver kept the vehicle moving, he realized that the path of escape was to the rear, and maneuver the vehicle reverse through some obstacles to exit the kill zone, not a bad days work. – The armored vehicle did its job – it absorbed the initial blast of fire which gave the driver some time and the driver used it wisely.

In my humble opinion what also helped was what appears to be a NOT to well thought out plan by the bad guys – in fact bordering on 3 stooges mentality. Authorities are still trying to figure out what happened, who did what to whom, but that does not negate the great job done by the driver.

Great info from Strafor’s Vice President Fred Burton, he breaks down the recent shooting of an U.S. Embassy vehicle in Mexico.

The major differences between the two attacks

• A driver that reacted quickly and with skill
• An armored vehicle

Backing up fast is hard and if not done correctly, dangerous. But with that said it is by far one of the most valuable driving skills to have in a high risk environment. Unfortunately backing at speed is not a skill taught or practiced at most driver training programs.

Some points

• Backing up quick – real quick is difficult
• Make sure you can see behind you before bad things happen in front of you.
• Back up around other vehicles
• Backing up in a straight line bears no resemblance to backing up around vehicles.
• Backing up in a four door police package vehicle bears no resemblance to backing up in a high center of gravity SUV
• Backing up in a four door police or high center of gravity SUV bears no resemblance to backing up in a 10,000 pound armored vehicle.