Two Mexican Gangsters Found Guilty of Killing American ICE Agent

Two Mexican Gangsters Found Guilty of Killing American ICE Agent
Jamie Zapata (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
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A court convicted two Mexican nationals Thursday for the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata.

Zapata was 32 years old when he was attacked and killed by members of criminal syndicate Los Zetas near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 2011.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Jose Manuel Garcia-Sota and Jesus Ivan Quezada-Pina guilty of felony murder and other crimes.

On the day of the attack, Zapata and fellow agent Victor Avila were driving on Highway 57 in Mexico on assignment from ICE when they noticed two SUVs following them. The two vehicles caught up with them at high speed and were driving aggressively.

One SUV passed the agents’ Suburban, while men from the other car fired at them and rammed their vehicle off the road. Once off the road, some 15 armed cartel members surrounded the agents’ car. When the agents tried to identify themselves and reason with the gangsters, they received bullets as an answer.

After the assailants left, Avila managed to use a cellphone to call for help. Zapata put the car in drive and managed to get away, but collapsed at the wheel.

A sign displayed on March 4, 2011 on the Mexican side of the border with the United States in Tijuana, northern Mexico, offers a telephone number to report on any information about the murder of US ICE agent Jaime Zapata, who was killed on February 15. (Paco Vega/AFP/Getty Images)
A sign displayed on March 4, 2011 on the Mexican side of the border with the United States in Tijuana, northern Mexico, offers a telephone number to report on any information about the murder of US ICE agent Jaime Zapata, who was killed on February 15. Paco Vega/AFP/Getty Images