On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, John Morton announced that his agency is sending an additional 20 agents to Mexico to combat the growing threat from the cartels.
Of course, these new agents will be unarmed.
When reporters brought up the fact that Agent Jaime Zapata was recently gunned down by Zetas gunmen and unable to defend himself, Morton responded: "We're very cognizant of the fact that we're sending people into a place that's dangerous and we're taking a number of security steps."
Current Mexican law bans foreign law enforcement agents from carrying weapons, even when working on an investigation--a policy over which President Obama recently expressed his approval.
Following last week’s meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Obama told reporters that U.S. agents working in Mexico would remain unarmed, saying: “There are laws in place in Mexico that say that our agents should not be armed. We do not carry out law enforcement activities inside of Mexico.”
However, ICE agents by the vary nature of their work in Mexico are carrying out “law enforcement activities inside of Mexico,” and forcing these agents to work and travel without the ability to defend themselves, is undoubtedly placing an even larger a target on their backs.
Agent Zapata was killed on February 15, when he and another agent were shot after encountering a so-called “narco-blockade.”
The second agent survived his wounds and is expected to make a full recovery.
These makeshift blockades are becoming a common sight throughout Mexico. Drug traffickers will block a road with their vehicles to keep either law enforcement or operatives from rival cartels out of a certain neighborhood or town.
The two agents were assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
ICE has agents assigned to several cities throughout the war-torn country, including Tijuana and Monterrey.
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