Kidnapped agents seen in video

MEXICO CITY — A chilling video apparently shows two kneeling, bound Mexican intelligence agents confessing supposed rights violations while surrounded by five masked gunmen pointing machine pistols and assault rifles at them.

A federal official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said Monday the two men in the video are apparently the two agents of the federal Attorney General’s Office who went missing Feb. 5 in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit.

The gunmen bear no identifying marks on their clothes, but Nayarit is dominated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

One of the two reads from an apparently prepared script in which he claims agents and military personnel committed rapes, torture and theft.

It was unclear what rank the two had, but the gunmen apparently thought they were undercover intelligence agents, because the script included the line “understand, the fact that we dress up as normal workers doesn’t mean they don’t know who we are.”

However, the Attorney General’s Office said the two missing agents had been off duty and attending a family event in Nayarit when they disappeared.

The video released over the weekend on social media was shocking in part because while corrupt local police have been taped “confessing” and being executed on video in the past, it has seldom happened to federal agents.

The Jalisco cartel, Mexico’s fastest-growing gang, has been known both for its violence and its willingness to attack federal police and even the military.

The Attorney General’s Office said no efforts would be spared to find the two abducted agents.