Obama administration officials announced today a joint task force between the Justice and Homeland Security departments to investigate the death yesterday of a federal immigration and customs officer who was shot in Mexico.
Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met today to establish a task force that the officials said would “leverage the investigative capabilities” of the two agencies in investigation the shooting. The FBI will lead the probe of the shooting, which happened on a road between Monterrey, Mexico, and Mexico City.
“The murder of Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the shooting of another ICE agent provide a sad reminder of the dangers American law enforcement officers face every day,” Holder said in a statement. “Working with our Mexican counterparts, we have already launched an aggressive investigation, and this joint task force will ensure that every available resource is used to bring the perpetrators of this terrible crime to justice.”
Zapata was critically wounded and died from his injuries, the Justice Department said. A second immigration agent was shot twice in the leg and has been released from a hospital. Both agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were assigned to ICE’s attaché office in Mexico City. ICE has more background on Zapata here.
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