AMERICAN IMMIGRATION AGENT KILLED BY GUNMEN IN MEXICO

MEXICO CITY -- Gunmen on a highway in northern Mexico killed an agent
with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday and
wounded another, in an attack that signaled the escalating risk for
American officials fighting Mexican crime gangs that move drugs and
migrants into the United States.

The United States homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, said
in a statement that the agents were assigned to the customs agency's
attache office at the American Embassy in Mexico City, and that they
had been shot in the line of duty while driving between the city and
Monterrey.

The agent who was killed was identified as Jaime J. Zapata. He joined
the agency in 2006 and served in Laredo, Tex., before a recent
assignment to Mexico City. The name of the other agent was not
released, but a statement from the immigration and customs agency said
he was in stable condition.

It was the first time that an employee of the immigration and customs
agency had been wounded or killed in the line of duty in Mexico,
American officials said.

Typically American immigration agents are involved in major
investigations of trafficking, in conjunction with Mexican law
enforcement. And on Tuesday, the American agents were clearly driving
into dangerous territory. The police in San Luis Potosi State said the
attack occurred on a main highway about midway between Mexico City,
the capital, and Monterrey, the same highway where, a month ago, a
group of armed men clashed with the federal police in a running battle
that left five presumed criminals dead.

The American agents' destination, Monterrey, a large, wealthy city two
hours from McAllen, Tex., has become an epicenter of drug gang battles
over the past year as the Gulf Cartel and an offshoot, the Zetas, have
fought for control of smuggling routes.

American and Mexican authorities have warned that roads throughout the
area are rife with false checkpoints run by drug cartel gunmen, and
recent victims have not been limited to rivals. This week, a senior
police intelligence official was found dead in his burning armored car
in Monterrey.

On Jan. 26, two American missionaries -- Sam and Nancy Davis -- were
ambushed on a highway between Reynosa and Monterrey. Ms. Davis was
killed.

Mexican government officials have said they are making progress in the
area, citing recent arrests. But experts contend that the wave of
violence has shown no sign of diminishing.

While attacks on American law enforcement officials have been rare in
Mexico, threats from the leaders of drug gangs have sometimes
escalated. The killing of an agent from the Drug Enforcement
Administration in Mexico in 1985 led to strained relations between
officers on both sides of the border, and between the Mexican and
American governments.