Legislation introduced earlier this year titled the Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act was signed into law November 18 by President Joe Biden.
The act was co-authored by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28), Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX-10), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). The law is intended to allow the U.S. to prosecute individuals who commit acts of violence against U.S. government employees serving abroad.
The act was written after a criminal appeals court vacated the conviction of the people who had murdered U.S. Customs and Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata in 2011. The court ruled that the lower court did not have the authority to prosecute foreign individuals for crimes committed outside of the United States.
“Federal agents make great sacrifices in service to our country. They protect our homeland, our ideals, and our values. As a member of Congress, it is my duty to protect our service members throughout active duty and beyond,” Cuellar said in a press release.
This legislation will ensure that individuals who harm, or attempt to harm, federal officers and federal employees serving internationally can be prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court.”
Zapata and Avila were traveling from Laredo, Texas to Mexico City on official business when fifteen individuals believed to be members of the Los Zetas drug cartel reportedly forced their official diplomatic SUV off the road and repeatedly shot both men.
Zapata died at the scene while Avila survived. U.S. and Mexican authorities managed to capture all of the individuals believed to be involved.
The killing of Zapata was the second death attributed to firearms that were allowed to be illegally purchased and exported to Mexico during the disastrous ‘Operation Fast and Furious’ gun-walking scheme operated by then-Attorney General Eric Holder.
The scheme allowed straw buyers to buy weapons in the U.S. and sell them to drug cartels in Mexico. The ATF agents responsible for the operation allegedly lost track of around 2,000 firearms, most of which have never been recovered.
In the aftermath of the disclosure of the gun-walking scheme, Republicans in Congress sought records and documents held by the Attorney General’s Office. Holder refused and former President Barack Obama used executive privilege to shield Holder after Congress voted to hold him in contempt.
Federal courts ruled that Obama did not have the power to shield Holder, but Democrats had taken control of Congress and shut down the investigation by that time.
Under U.S. law as it existed, two of the seven men extradited to the U.S. were convicted of the murder of Zapata. Due to language in the law that prevents prosecution for crimes committed outside of the United States, life sentencing was not authorized.
The new law corrects the language in the existing law to ensure that agents and employees of the government are protected by Federal law, regardless of where they are working.