Thread: ICE agent wounded in Mexico attack in Houston hospital

ICE agent wounded in Mexico attack in Houston hospital

By Dane Schiller And Dudley Althaus / Houston Chronicle
Published: 01:53 a.m., Wednesday, February 16, 2011

MEXICO CITY — Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were shot Tuesday afternoon, one fatally, in an apparent assault on a highway near the northern Mexican city of San Luis Potosi as they drove a sport utility vehicle with diplomatic license plates.

The slain agent was Brownsville native Jaime Zapata, who was on assignment from the office in Laredo, where he served on the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit as well as the Border Enforcement Security Task Force.

The wounded ICE agent was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, in Houston, said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and chairman of the panel on investigations. McCaul is a former federal prosecutor in Texas and former deputy attorney general of Texas.

The injured agent, who was recently deployed for duty out of the United States Embassy in Mexico City, was not identified. ICE said he was shot twice in the leg and is in stable condition in the United States.

President Barack Obama telephoned Zapata's parents today, said spokesman Nick Shapiro. Obama said their son served the United States admirably and that his country was grateful for his selfless service, said.

ICE officials issued a statement today saying that U.S. law enforcement is with Mexican authorities investigating the shooting "to ensure the perpetrators of this unconscionable crime are captured as quickly as possible. The full resources of the Department of Homeland Security are at the disposal of our Mexican partners in this investigation."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Zapata family for their tragic loss," ICE Director John Morton said. "May the work we continue to do as an agency be worthy of a sacrifice as great as the one made by Special Agent Zapata."

Zapata graduated from the University of Texas at Brownsville and began his federal law enforcement career with the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona.

The agents were traveling when forced to a stop by suspected gangsters in other vehicles. The agents apparently were identifying themselves through a window when the assailants opened fire with assault weapons.

"They were moving when they were cut off," said Alonso Pena, the recently retired deputy chief of the immigration agency, who was informed of the details of the attack. "I think we will see an unprecedented response by the United States if it turns out to be a cold blooded murder of a U.S. federal agent."

"The first response is to work with the government of Mexico to insure that those responsible are brought to justice," Pena said. "There will be no stone unturned, no effort not taken, to bring those responsible to justice."

The Mexican government said today it is dispatching special organized crime investigators to assist in a probe of the shooting.

In addition, the Mexican government condemned the attack and vowed justice in the case.

"The government of Mexico strongly condemns this serious act of violence, and expresses its solidarity with the Government of the United States and the families of the persons who were attacked," said a statement from the foreign-relations ministry. "The federal authorities, in coordination and support of the state authorities, are making the necessary investigations to clarify the events and bring the guilty parties to justice."

Memories of 1985 case

Tuesday's attack is the first killing of a U.S. agent in the line of duty in Mexico since the 1985 torture murder of Drug Enforcement Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena by drug traffickers in Guadalajara.

Camarena's killing, and the apparent collusion cover-up by Mexican officials in it, brought U.S.-Mexico relations to the near breaking point.

The Mexican highways below the South Texas border have become increasingly treacherous in recent months as gangsters have assaulted motorists, especially those travelling in sport utility vehicles.

It's not immediately clear what the U.S. agents were doing on the highway. But U.S. officials and contractors serve as instructors at a training facility for Mexican federal police in San Luis Potosi.

Mexican federal officers have been ambushed and killed upon leaving the facility in recent years.

The U.S. embassy has forbidden its officials from driving many Mexican highways because of insecurity. Among the off limit roads are the toll highways between the city of Monterrey and the South Texas border.

dane.schiller@chron.com; dudley.althaus@chron.com; susan.carroll@chron.com; stewart.powell@chron.com

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/articl ... 015150.php

U.S. Authorities Vow to Find ICE Agent’s Killers

Reported by: Manuel De La Rosa
Last Update: 1:51 pm

BROWNSVILLE - U.S. authorities are vowing to track down those responsible for the attack that killed an ICE agent in Mexico. Brownsville native Jaime Zapata was killed, and his partner was wounded.

Police are at the home Zapata's family in Brownsville. Officers are keeping the media a good distance away from the home.

Zapata and his partner, Jaime Avila, were traveling from Mexico City to Monterrey Tuesday afternoon. Gunmen allegedly working for the cartel shot at them five times on a highway north of Mexico City.

The agents stopped at what they thought was a military blockade. Sources say it turned out to be a cartel blockade.

Zapata's partner Jaime Avila survived the attack. ICE officials say he was shot twice in the leg. Right now, he's back in the United States and listed in stable condition.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS has just learned President Barack Obama has expressed condolences to the family of special agent Jaime Zapata.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said:

“Let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel - or any DHS personnel - is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety. The full resources of our department are at the disposal of our Mexican partners in this investigation.â€

Lawmakers Speak Out About Attack in Mexico

Reported by: Jordan Williams
Last Update: 1:50 pm

AUSTIN - Lawmakers are speaking out on air, online and via email about the attack on two ICE agents in Mexico.

State Rep. Aaron Pena serves on the Texas House's Homeland Security Committee. Pena says this attack marks an intensification of the drug war.

"They are attacking an individual who was driving in a SUV with diplomatic plates, so after he identified himself, that's when they opened fire. They knew who he was, and it shows us the cartels are increasing their violence with not just their own people but with people who obviously represent our country,â€

Drug gang shot U.S. agents, Mexican governor says

Americans' armored vehicle ambushed on highway between Monterrey,


Mexico City
MEXICO CITY — Mexican drug gang hitmen shot two U.S. immigration and customs agents, the governor of the state where the men were attacked said Wednesday. If the allegation proves true, such an attack could be a major provocation to the United States.

The uncommon shooting of U.S. officials also highlights the risk such agents face as the United States increases its cooperation with Mexico in battling organized crime. ICE said the two men were the first of its agents shot in the line of duty in Mexico.

Special Agent Jaime Zapata died Tuesday when gunmen attacked the agents' blue Suburban vehicle as they drove through the northern state of San Luis Potosi. Zapata was on assignment to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement attache in Mexico City from his post in Laredo, Texas.

The Americans were shot in the mid-afternoon, south of the city of San Luis Potosi, which is roughly half way between Mexico City and Monterrey, the country's business capital, where drug-related violence has soared over the past year.

The second agent, who wasn't identified, was shot in the arm and leg and was in stable condition, according to statements from the Department of Homeland Security.

The agent who survived provided a "harrowing and very detailed" account of the attack to a doctor, who was interviewed by Telemundo correspondent Raul Torres.

The two were driving down Highway 57 just outside of San Luis Potosi when they noticed two SUVs following them, the doctor said. The two attackers up behind them at a high rate of speed, "aggressively.", and eventually rammed them off the road. The agent said that he remembers then how one of the men got out, assault rifle in hand, and somehow either through window or door ... went inside their vehicle and opened fire point blank at them.

He took nothing, which would eliminate robbery as reason. They were not ambushed by a "fake" road block, the doctor told Telemundo.

The gunmen apparently knew they were attacking law enforcement officers judging from comments they made before opening fire, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The law enforcement official refused to reveal the specific comments, but said the blue Suburban had diplomatic plates that also may have indicated who was on board.

Texas Congressman Michael McCaul, who was briefed on the incident as chairman of the Homeland Security Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, said the gunmen opened fire after the agents identified themselves as U.S. diplomats.

"This was an intentional ambush against two United States federal agents," he said in a statement. "This tragic event is a game changer. The United States will not tolerate acts of violence against its citizens or law enforcement and I believe we must respond forcefully."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the fatal attack on American law enforcement, the highest-profile since the 1985 torture and killing of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, won't change the U.S. commitment to supporting Mexico in its crackdown on organized crime.

Video: Special agent killed in Mexico (on this page)
"Let me be clear: Any act of violence against our ICE personnel — or any DHS personnel — is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety," Napolitano said in a statement. "We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders."

San Luis Potosi state governor Fernando Toranzo blamed the attack on drug gangs.

"There was an attack where drug gang members ... tried to kill two U.S. officials on a federal highway," Toranzo said in a radio interview.

But federal officials told NBC News' Pete Williams that it's still not clear if the gunmen targeted the men because they were U.S. agents.

It's possible the incident was a carjacking gone awry, as SUVs are highly prized in that area of Mexico, one official told NBC. Texas missionary Nancy Davis shot to death last month in northern Mexico while traveling in a large 2008 Chevrolet pickup, and police believe the attackers were trying to steal the truck.

Video: U.S. agents shot in Mexico (on this page)
Additionally, the official told Williams, the area is not under the control of any single cartel, so turf battles have been known to erupt.

U.S. and Mexican officials said they were working closely together to investigate the shooting and find those responsible.

Napolitano and Attorney General Holder said Wednesday they would establish a joint task force between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, led by the FBI, to work with Mexico on the investigation.

The two agents were driving a four-lane, federal highway from Mexico City to the northern city of Monterrey on routine business and not as part of an investigation, said a U.S. federal law enforcement official who is not authorized to discuss the case publicly. ICE, the agency for immigration enforcement inside the U.S., also investigates drugs, money laundering and smuggling of weapons and other contraband in Mexico, according to former director Julie Myers.

The agents were stopped at what may have appeared to be a military checkpoint, according to one Mexican official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. Mexican military officers said they had no checkpoints in the area.

After they stopped, someone opened fire on them, the official said.

Television footage showed a blue sports utility vehicle with several large bullet holes sitting in the median of the highway, which was guarded by heavily armed Mexican federal police.

While San Luis Potosi has seen sporadic incidents of drug violence, it borders two states where cartels are waging a bloody fight for territory.

Slideshow: Narco culture permeates Mexico, leaks across border (on this page)
Mexico is fighting heavily armed and powerful drug cartels that supply the U.S. market. Since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on organized crime shortly after taking office in December 2006, almost 35,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence.

The U.S. has increased equipment and training support for Mexico in recent years through its $1.4 billion Merida Initiative.

As of January last year, 26 ICE special agents also had trained over 4,000 new Mexican police recruits, according to the embassy.

Video: El Paso school mourns students slain in Mexico
Zapata, who joined ICE in 2006, served on the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit as well as the Border Enforcement Security Task Force. He also served as a member of the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona. The agency didn't provide his age but said he was a native of Brownsville, Texas, who graduated from the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2005.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama called Zapata's parents to give "his and Michelle's heart felt condolences on the loss of their son.," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The President told them that no words could express the sadness of the loss of a loved one, their son served our country admirably," Carney said.

Americans attacked
Though Mexico is seeing record rates of violence, it is rare for U.S. officials to be attacked. The U.S. government, however, has become increasingly concerned about the safety of its employees in Mexico.

Video: Policing Mexico's drug wars (on this page)
In March, an U.S. employee of the American consulate in Ciudad Juarez, her husband and a Mexican tied to the consulate were killed when drug gang members fired on their cars as they left a children's party in the city across from El Paso, Texas.

The U.S. State Department has taken several measures over the past year to protect consulate employees and their families. It has at times authorized the departure of relatives of U.S. government employees in northern Mexican cities.

In July, it temporarily closed the consulate in Ciudad Juarez after receiving unspecified threats. Earlier this month, the consulate in Guadalajara prohibited U.S. government officials from traveling after dark on the road to the airport because of cartel-related attacks in Mexico's second-largest city.

If there is any evidence that drug gangs targeted the two agents, it would mark an escalation in the conflict.

"What we would hope is that there would be an incredibly strong response from the U.S. government ... Otherwise we could have a situation where it's open season on U.S. federal agents at the border," said Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41621249/ns ... -americas/

Nothing less than the death penalty for these scum.

Originally Posted by miguelina

Nothing less than the death penalty for these scum.

Mexico doesn't have the death penalty.

They will be located and brought to justice, I hope as soon as possible. Wishing the Agent a speedy recovery. God bless all.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by miguelina

Nothing less than the death penalty for these scum.

Mexico0 doesn't have the death penalty.

Is there any way we can do a transfer to the U.S. where they can get a full dosages of good medicine?

Originally Posted by Pisces_2010

Is there any way we can do a transfer to the U.S. where they can get a full dosages of good medicine?

Not likely, since the killers are most likely Mexican citizens they will have to be tried in the Mexican court because Mexico will never extradite any Mexican citizen to any country that has the death penalty unless that country agrees to forgo the death penalty.

the zeta cartel will keep these people hidden, OR they will take care of the problem themselves because they, like any other drug cartel, do not like the negative publicity they will now be getting.