Lawsuit filed on behalf of agents shot in Mexico

MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — The family of a U.S. agent killed in Mexico in 2011 and another agent who survived the attack have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Brownsville.

The lawsuit arises from the Feb. 15, 2011, attack on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila. They were attacked in their armored sport utility vehicle near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, shortly after picking up some equipment from another agent.

Zapata died and Avila was seriously wounded.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday names the agents' supervisors among nearly two dozen others. It alleges that Zapata and Avila never should have been sent on the dangerous mission, their armored SUV was flawed and at least two of the guns used in the attack were bought in the United States.