U.S. AGENTS ARE SHOT, ONE KILLED, IN MEXICO

MEXICO CITY-An agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agency was shot and killed and another agent wounded by unknown gunmen
in central Mexico on Tuesday, according to U.S. officials.

The men were driving from Mexico City to Monterrey in the central
state of San Luis Potosi when they were attacked. U.S. officials
condemned the attack and said they would work with Mexican
counterparts to bring the assailants to justice.

"Let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel...is
an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives
at risk for our safety," Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano said in a statement.

The wounded agent was shot in the arm and leg and was in stable
condition, Ms. Napolitano said. U.S. officials would not speculate
about the motive for the attack.

The incident is sure to raise fresh concerns about Mexico's
deteriorating security in Washington and elsewhere. Drug-related
violence in Mexico has claimed at least 34,000 lives in the past four
years as rival drug gangs have fought for control of lucrative
drug-smuggling routes.

"In terms of the U.S. law enforcement community, this will greatly
raise the significance of Mexico," said George Grayson, an expert on
Mexico and drug trafficking at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

In a statement, Mexico's foreign ministry said that Mexico's federal
police were working with San Luis Potosi state authorities to bring
the crime's perpetrators to justice. Mexico "energetically condemns
this grave act of violence and expresses its solidarity with the
government of the United States and with the families of the attacked
persons," the statement said.

Attacks on U.S. officials are rare.

In 1985, the torture-murder of a Drug Enforcement Administration
agent, Enrique Camarena, strained bilateral ties and ultimately led to
the arrest of several high-ranking Mexican drug lords.

More recently, in December, a U.S. border patrol agent was fatally
shot just north of the border in Arizona while trying to catch bandits
who target illegal immigrants cross the border.

And three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez,
including a pregnant consular employee, were killed in March,
prompting the State Department to tighten security at its diplomatic
missions in northern Mexico.

The U.S. provides equipment and some training to Mexican security
forces under the $1.4 billion Merida Plan, and U.S. intelligence is
credited with helping Mexico catch a score of leading drug kingpins in
the past two years.

ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, routinely
investigates narcotics smuggling as well as money laundering,
organized crime and human smuggling.

Violence between organized crime gangs in Mexico is spreading far
beyond northern states where most of the killings take place,
affecting Mexico's northern business capital of Monterrey, Mexico's
second city of Guadalajara, and even into tourist resorts like Acapulco.

San Luis Potosi has also gotten caught up in the violence, with a
spate of recent drug-related killings. A shootout in a major
supermarket as well as a leading university in the state capital
caused panic among residents last week.

Drug gangs have also branched out into activities like human
smuggling. Last year, a gang massacred 72 Central and South American
migrants who were on their way to the U.S.