SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico, (Reuters) – Mexican drug gang hitmen were behind the shooting of two U.S. immigration and customs agents on a major highway, the governor of the state where the men were attacked said yesterday.
One Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was killed and a second was wounded in the attack on Tuesday, which came against a backdrop of spiraling violence between Mexican security forces and drug cartels.
“There was an attack where drug gang members … tried to kill two U.S. officials on a federal highway,” San Luis Potosi state governor Fernando Toranzo said in a radio interview.
United States officials have warned the cartels in recent weeks against any attempt to bring their brutal tactics across the border. If a gang responsible for the attack on the agents is identified, U.S. intelligence work is likely to focus on trying to catch its leaders and cripple its operations.
Washington has provided funds, training and political support for Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s army-led strategy to crush the cartels and U.S. intelligence is believed to have played a major role in the killing or capture of several top leaders in recent years.
