Federal Officials Offer Up to $5M for Information on Shootings of Two Immigration Agents

A reward of up to $5 million is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for shooting two federal immigration agents, including one fatally, officials announced Wednesday.

The Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security jointly announced the reward in connection to the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE HSI Special Agent Victor Avila.

Zapata and Avila were ambushed in Mexico on February 15, 2011, as they traveled in their U.S. government-issued vehicle from the state of San Luis Potosi to Mexico City. Mexican authorities have detained several individuals in connection to the incident, but an investigation is ongoing.

In conjunction with ICE officials, the FBI has established a 24-hour tip line based in the United States to handle any tips associated to the shootings. Anyone with information is encouraged to call (866) 859-9778 or to visit https://tips.fbi.gov. Individuals in Mexico can provide information by calling +001 800-225-5324. All information will be considered confidential.

The Mexican government also announced a reward of up to 10 million pesos on Wednesday for information leading to the arrest of individuals allegedly responsible for the murder and attempted murder.

The U.S. reward is being offered by the U.S. government through the U.S. Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program, which was established by Congress in 1986.