BAE Systems spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said in a statement, “The government customer was aware of the importance of disengaging the auto unlock feature.”
A gun from Texas
Armored SUV could not protect U.S. agents in Mexico
DELCIA LOPEZ/AP - Pallbearers carry the casket of ICE agent Jaime Jorge Zapata, who was shot and killed in Mexico as he traveled with another agent last year, to the Rose Lawn Garden Memorial cemetery.
The killing of Special Agent Jaime Zapata
U.S. investigators recovered one of the military-style semi-automatic weapons used in the attack that killed Zapata.
The gun came from Texas.
Ballistic testing of spent shell casings and the raising of an obliterated serial number revealed the weapon was a popular Romanian-made AK-47 knockoff purchased at J&J’s Pawn Shop in Beaumont, smuggled south to the Zetas by a methamphetamine trafficker named Manuel Gomez Barba, a U.S. citizen.
A congressional inquiry is underway to determine whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed the weapon to “walk” across the border, just as the agency lost track of thousands of other firearms that were smuggled to Mexico through the disgraced operation known as Fast and Furious.
U.S. diplomats said American agents in Mexico follow the law, which forbids them from carrying weapons. But several government sources with knowledge of the ongoing investigation say Zapata and Avila were armed on the day of the ambush, though they were outgunned.
The sources requested anonymity because the issue is politically explosive in Mexico, where foreigners are prohibited from carrying firearms.
“Our guys have the ability to defend themselves,” one U.S. official said.
Capitol Hill lawmakers say they will press the State Department to force the issue with their Mexican counterparts. “We know they have their own laws,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.). “But on the practical side, the Mexicans need to understand that we can’t let this happen again. We can’t leave our guys helpless.”
A frustrated family
In the weeks after the Zapata killing, thousands of U.S. agents and local police arrested and interrogated hundreds of suspected associates of Mexican drug cartels across the United States.
In Mexico, acting on U.S. intelligence from confidential informants and wiretaps, the Mexican military rounded up murder suspects and their bosses.
In December, Mexican authorities extradited an alleged low-ranking soldier in the Zeta cartel to the United States to stand trial for Zapata’s death in Washington. Julian Zapata (no relation), known by his moniker “Tweety Bird,” has pleaded not guilty.
Jaime Zapata grew up in a family with a tradition of serving in U.S. law enforcement. Two of his brothers are ICE agents. But the Zapata family has grown “extremely frustrated,” said Trey Martinez, their attorney.
“They want to know why he was put on that road. What equipment was so important that he had to drive up and bring it down? If it was so dangerous, why didn’t they have an escort? Or fly?"
And why, he said, hadn’t anyone checked the settings on the Suburban’s door locks?
“The government has been good about providing the family with emotional support,” Martinez said. “But the same people that are helping them aren’t giving them the answers they’re looking for.”
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