MEXICO SAYS U.S. AGENT'S KILLING WAS CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican army detained nine people Wednesday in the
killing of a U.S. agent last week, and said the shooting appears to
have been a case of mistaken identity by drug hitmen.

Mexican Defense Department spokesman Col. Ricardo Trevilla said Julian
Zapata, the leader of a cell of gunmen working for the Zeta drug
cartel, was responsible for the attack that killed Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata and wounded Victor Avila,
another ICE agent.

Six of the alleged gunmen, some of whom appeared to have been roughed
up, were paraded before reporters at a press conference at the Defense
Ministry. Col. Trevilla said the attack by the Zeta gunmen was a case
of mistaken identity.

He said Mr. Zapata, the gunman, who is no relation to the ICE agent,
had believed the armored SUV driven by the two U.S. agents was being
driven by criminals belonging to a rival drug cartel. Col. Trevilla
said three women were also in custody.

"We welcome the arrest announced today by Mexican authorities," said
Laura Sweeney, a Department of Justice spokeswoman in Washington. She
said U.S. officials had worked closely with their Mexican counterparts
in the investigation.

ICE director John Morton said that the investigation was still ongoing
and that the U.S. would continue to work closely with Mexican
officials "as it unfolds."

The shooting last week of the two agents shocked law enforcement
officials, and increased tensions between the two countries, who are
working closely to fight the powerful drug cartels which hold sway
over large areas of Mexico, especially along its border with the U.S.

The two U.S. agents were driven off the road as they drove on one of
Mexico's most important and well traveled highways about 150 miles
north of Mexico City, in an area that has become a battleground for
the Zetas and rival cartels.

Mr. Zapata was the first U.S. law enforcement agent to die in the line
of duty in Mexico since 1985 when Drug Enforcement Administration
agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was kidnapped, tortured and murdered.
Mr. Camarena's death spiked tensions with Mexico, leading to a brief
shutdown of the U.S.-Mexican border as well as a crackdown on drug
dealers. Since then, Mexican traffickers largely avoided tangling with
U.S. law enforcement agents in Mexico.

After last week shooting, some analysts and U.S. officials said they
believed the attack could mark a dangerous escalation by cartel gunmen
who might, for the first time, be targeting U.S. officials involved in
Mexico's drug war. Officials were especially worried because during
last week's attack, the ICE agents were fired on even after they
identified themselves as U.S. diplomats.

There was no mention made Wednesday of another suspect, Jesus "El
Mamito" Rejon, a former corporal in Mexico's elite army forces and top
Zeta leader who some U.S. officials believe may also have been
involved in the attack. The U.S. has a $5 million dollar reward for
the capture of Mr. Rejon. The former corporal has been indicted for
importing tons of cocaine into the U.S.

The Zeta Cartel began as a group of highly trained Mexican army
deserters who were originally recruited to work as enforcers for the
Gulf Cartel in the late 1990s. But the Zetas broke with the Gulf
Cartel last year, and have been fighting a brutal turf war with them
ever since.