Mexico's Gulf Cartel may have 40 bulletproof vests emblazoned with "FBI" and "DEA" to trick their drug-trafficking rivals, according to a new law enforcement advisory.
Baseball caps and T-shirts with the agencies' names long have been a fad among everyday citizens, but ballistic armor raises the stakes and concerns, officials said.
"It is believed the Gulf Cartel intended to use the vests as a distraction while they were conducting enforcement activities against their victims," reads a message prepared by an FBI intelligence coordinator.
The advisory, which was distributed Monday, comes as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to travel the border and visit Mexico this week to discuss taking on drug cartels.
The Gulf Cartel is based in Northern Mexico and its reputed former leader, Osiel Cardenas, is jailed in the United States, awaiting trial later this year in Houston.
The advisory was sent to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for "situational awareness," according to the document. Federal officials could not immediately comment on the credibilty of the source of the information.
Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Mike Sanders said that during his nearly 20-year career, he's only heard of a handful of times when criminals imitated agents, but never by wearing vests.
"It is a big concern," he said.
"We know the traffickers wear ballistic vests, there is no doubt about it," he said. "But with them saying FBI or DEA on it; we don't know what they are going to use them for.
"We don't know if they are using them in home invasions on this side (of the border) or will use them on the south side of border to throw off any military or law enforcement action."
The FBI's San Antonio office apparently was the first to receive information that the cartel acquired the equipment in January.
The advisory to law enforcement officers notes that there is no indication the cartel intended to use the vests in the United States.
While impersonating U.S. law enforcement officers would seem unusual in Mexico, drug cartel operatives there long have disguised themselves as Mexican federal agents, police and soldiers to carry out attacks or kidnap rivals.
Erik Vasys, a spokesman for the FBI in San Antonio, said that information shared among law enforcement officers can be misinterpreted by the general public.
"The primary purpose of the intel is always officer safety first," said Vasys, who explained that some of the shared information is raw, or has only partially been validated, at the time it is shared.
He would not discuss specifics about the report on the bulletproof vests.
