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Gunmen kill US agent, wound another

Published:Thursday | February 17, 2011 | 12:00 AM
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Zapata
Mexican federal police and army soldiers guard a US Embassy vehicle after it came under attack by unknown gunmen on Highway 57 between Mexico City and Monterrey, near the town of Santa Maria Del Rio, San Luis Potosi state, Mexico, on Tuesday. - ap
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MEXICO CITY (AP):

The killing of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and wounding of another in Mexico highlights the risk for American officials helping with Mexico's crackdown on organised crime under increasing cooperation between the two countries.

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

The second agent is Victor Avila, according to US officials who weren't authorised to speak on the case. He was shot twice in the leg and transported back to the United States, where he is in stable condition, according to an ICE statement yesterday.

President Barack Obama expressed condolences yesterday to Zapata's family.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the highest-profile attack on US lawmen in Mexico since the 1985 torture and killing of DEA agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena, won't change the US commitment to supporting Mexico in its crackdown on organised crime.

"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 on Tuesday. "We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders."