Los Zetas gunman pleads guilty to 2011 execution of U.S. ICE agent, and wounding of another

Brutal highway assault in northern Mexico proved no one is immune from cartel vengeance

Guadalajara -
A former executioner for the Los Zetas drug cartel pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that he led an attack two years ago which left a U.S. federal agent dead and gravely wounded another.

Julián Espinoza waived a jury trial and entered the pleas to murder, assault on a federal officer and other offenses during a Thursday appearance before Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The crimes occurred in Mexico Feb. 15, 2011. Espinoza was indicted by a Washington, D.C. grand jury several months later, under statutes which give federal courts international jurisdiction in some cases where U.S. nationals or government officials are victims. The indictment is below.

Espinoza was captured by the Mexican army soon after the events, and extradited to the United States in December 2011. He could have faced the death penalty under American law, but U.S. prosecutors agreed to waive capital punishment as a condition of extradition under long standing agreements between the two countries. There is no death penalty in Mexico for any crime.

U.S. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Agent Jaime Zapata was 32 at the time of his death, and had worked with the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit and the Border Enforcement Security Task Force. On the day of the attack Zapata and his partner Víctor Ávila were on official business, traveling from Laredo, Texas to Mexico City. They were riding in a government vehicle carrying U.S. diplomatic tags. As they passed through the north central state of San Luis Potosí, on a major four lane highway from Monterrey to Mexico City, two vehicles began following them and forced them off the road. According to Ávila, as many as 15 men dressed in military uniforms and carrying assault weapons circled their car. Zapata rolled down his window to confirm that they were federal agents, and the men began firing at point blank range. The assailants fled immediately.

Badly wounded, Ávila managed to get off a cell phone call. Zapata attempted to drive away from the scene, but soon collapsed at the wheel. Mexican federal police arrived by helicopter in minutes, but it was too late for Zapata. He died before reaching the hospital. The attack occurred near a fake military checkpoint which the gunmen had set up.

Espinoza told Mexican authorities after his arrest that he and members of his Zeta hit team believed the two ICE agents belonged to a competing drug cartel. The Americans were Hispanic in appearance and spoke Spanish with native fluency. Forensic evidence showed some of the weapons used in the unprecedented attack had been sold to border gun runners in a Texas gun shop.

Agent Zapata's survivors filed a civil suit against the U.S. government and several federal agencies earlier this year. That story and more details are in the MGR reports below.

Feb. 14, 2013 - Family of ICE agent murdered by Los Zetas in Mexico sues U.S. government
Jun. 20 - Family of ICE agent murdered in Mexico by Los Zetas gives U.S. notice of intent to sue
Apr. 26 - Long, slow legal road in case of Zeta hit man alleged to have killed U.S. ICE agent
Feb. 26 - Rolling down Mexico Highway 57, a door lock design change could have saved a life
Jan. 25 - Accused Zeta killer of U.S. ICE agent returns to D.C. federal court for hearing
Jan. 13, 2012 - Top Zeta leader arrested; linked to 50 murders, including U.S. ICE agent in 2011
Dec. 21 - Los Zetas accused killer makes his first appearance in D.C. federal court
Dec. 21, 2011 - Los Zetas killer charged in death of U.S. immigration agent is extradited by Mexico

Espinoza Indictment

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