Borderland Beat
A commander of the Zetas drug cartel pleaded guilty Thursday, May 23, 2013 to the murder of ICE Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata and the attempted murder of fellow agent Victor Avila.
Julian Zapata Espinoza, 32, also known as “El Piolin” entered the plea in a Washington, D.C., federal court before Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth less than two weeks before he was to stand trial on the charges of murder and attempted murder in the shooting of the federal agents.
Zapata, 32, a Brownsville native who worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was killed Feb. 15, 2011, near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in an attack by members of the Zetas drug cartel.
Avila was wounded in the attack.
Authorities said Zapata struggled with his assailants as they tried to drag him out of his vehicle. Zapata was shot at least three times with the bullets flying through the car window that accidentally had been cracked open. Authorities said 83 spent casings from AK-47 bullets were found at the scene.
Agent Zapata’s family attended Thursday’s court proceedings along with attorney Trey Martinez of Brownsville, who said the Zapata family was “pleased” with the court proceedings that had occurred, but added this is just the beginning. The family has a $75 million lawsuit pending against the federal government and others.
“The Zapata and Avila families are pleased with this guilty plea and the steps taken to bring those responsible for this crime to justice. They are grateful to all those who have stood by them and have been instrumental in this process,” Martinez said in statement.
In his April 2013 statement to federal authorities, Espinoza Zapata admitted that he and other “estacas” or “hit squads” armed with AK-47s, AR-15s and handguns, surrounded the armored vehicle in which Jaime Zapata and Avila were riding in San Luis Potosi. El Piolin stated he fired several shots in the air trying to get the agents to exit the vehicle. When they refused to do so, the “estacas” fired weapons at the vehicle, Espinoza Zapata said.
Zapata Espinoza said he and the others did not know that Agent Zapata and Avila were U.S. citizens and federal agents until after the ambush. He was arrested Feb. 23, 2011, at his residence in Mexico.
The purpose of “stopping the armored vehicle was to steal it,” Espinoza Zapata said.
In an initial statement to Mexican authorities, Zapata Espinoza said that agent Zapata’s death was a case of mistaken identity. He and others believed the Suburban in which Zapata and Avila were riding belonged to a rival drug cartel.
In his April statement to U.S. authorities, Zapata Espinoza said Zeta members had a “standing order from the Zetas leadership to steal vehicles deemed valuable to the cartel.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., Thursday stated that three others also entered guilty pleas in connection with the killing and wounding of the agents. Ruben Dario Venegas Rivera, 25, also known as “Catracho,” and Jose Ismael Nava Villagran, 30, also known as “Cacho,” pleaded guilty on Aug. 1, 2011, and Jan. 4, 2012, respectively, to one count each to federal charges concerning the murder and attempted murder of agents Zapata and Avila.
In addition, Francisco Carbajal Flores, 38, also known as “Dalmata,” entered a guilty plea to a charge of “conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and to being an accessory after the fact to the murder and attempted murder of the agents.”
The defendants’ guilty pleas had been sealed until Thursday’s court proceedings.
Authorities said as part of the guilty pleas Zapata Espinoza, Venegas Rivera and Nava Villagran admitted to being members of the Zetas hit squad and participating directly in the ambush on the agents.
Carbajal Flores admitted to assisting Zeta members in the attack.
All four men face a possible maximum sentence of life in prison. No sentencing date has been scheduled.
The case was investigated by the FBI, ICE, the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Adminstration, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Marshals Service.
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