Two US immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were shot in Mexico while driving between Mexico City and the northern city of Monterrey. One agent later died and the other agent is reported to be in stable condition.
Inside the Bay Area reported:
Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were shot Tuesday afternoon in the line of duty in Mexico, according to an ICE statement.
The agents assigned to the ICE Attache office in Mexico City were attacked by unknown assailants while driving between Mexico City and the northern city of Monterrey.
There were no details on their condition or the precise location of the shooting.
The Mexican President’s Office and Mexican immigration officials said they had no information on the attack.
San Luis Potosi state police had a report of shooting on a federal highway leading to Monterrey involving two people, one of whom was airlifted by helicopter to Mexico City, according to Public Safety spokesman Omar Nino.
Though Mexico is seeing record rates of violence from warring drug cartels and a crackdown on organized crime, it is rare for U.S. officials to be attacked.
But the U.S. government has increasingly become concerned about the safety of its employees in Mexico amid the escalating violence.
In March, a U.S. employee of the consulate, her husband and a Mexican tied to the consulate were killed when drug gang members fired on their cars as they left a children’s party in Ciudad Juarez, the city across from El Paso, Texas.