On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
I rise this morning to express my deepest sorrow about the tragic attack on American law enforcement that happened earlier this week in Mexico. Tuesday afternoon, two agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement were attacked while driving between Mexico City and Monterrey. Today, I honor the sacrifice of Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata, who lost his life in service to our country. Special Agent Zapata, from Brownsville, Texas, joined ICE in 2006. His brother also serves with ICE. A second agent, Victor Avila, was injured in the attack and remains in stable condition. My thoughts and prayers are with both agents and their families. These two brave men took dangerous assignments, and Agent Zapata made the ultimate sacrifice. They were two of the hundreds of ICE personnel throughout the world, fighting the war on drugs--money laundering, smuggling, and human trafficking. I have been in contact with law enforcement, and they are working to ensure that the perpetrators of this horrible attack are brought to justice. I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Special Agent Zapata. He died for a just cause, and will be remembered as a man of courage and honor.
