A roundup of news and analysis -- part of our ongoing Web-based investigation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Officer Gunned Down

In Mexico City gunmen kill ICE agent Jaime Zapata and wound his colleague in a Feb. 15 attack on their vehicle. It's the first time a U.S. immigration agent has been killed in Mexico and The New York Times reports that the gunmen "knew they were firing on foreign officers but proceeded anyway..." As CNN reports, there's speculation the attack was a contract hit by the Zetas.

A week later, the Mexican Defense Department announced it had a suspect in Zapata's death in custody, but provided no details.

InSight's Elyssa Pachico analyzes the political rhetoric following the shooting, asking whether Zapata's murder is a "game changer" in terms of U.S. policy toward Mexico.

Sen. Grassley Demands Answers in Border Patrol Agent's Murder

On Feb. 16, Sen. Charles Grassley [R-Iowa] sent a letter [PDF] to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry on Dec. 14, 2010 in Arizona, just north of the Mexico border. Grassley, according to the letter and a local news report, is asking for more information on the assault rifles found at the scene of Terry's shooting, which he alleges connected to a recent indictment handed down on Jan. 25 by the Department of Justice, and the department's ongoing border program Project Gunrunner [PDF]. The specifics of the Jaime Avila indictment mentioned in Grassley's letter can be found here [PDF].

House Budget Bill Blocks Effort to Stem Guns to Mexican Cartels

The House budget bill that was passed on Feb. 19 includes an amendment that blocks a request from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives [ATF] to expand its anti-gun trafficking authority. In December the ATF had asked that all firearms dealers in border states be required to report the sale of two or more assault weapons to the same buyer within five work days

The Obama administration has yet to accept or reject the ATF request, but The Hill reports the House budget bill would make that decision moot.


Mexico's Violence: Recent Incidents

Between Feb. 12 and Feb. 16, 32 people are killed and dozens wounded in separate attacks at various locations: A popular nightclub; a shootout between soldiers and cartel members; and turf wars among rival cartels. The most high-profile killing is that of Homero Guillermo Salcido Trevino, a security official in Nuevo Leon.

In a 72-hour period between Feb. 17 and Feb. 20, 53 people are killed in Cuidad Juarez, including at least four police officers. For more on this wave of violence, much of it involving a feud between the Juarez and Sinaloa Cartels, read Geoffrey Ramsey's article for InSight that examines new statistics about homicides on the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Jan. 20, 12 taxi drivers or passengers are killed in Acapulco just days before the Mexican Open tennis tournament.