By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — ICE agent Victor Avila Jr. who was shot in February in an ambush in Mexico along with agent Jaime Zapata is moving about, but has yet to return to work, said the agency spokesman Brian P. Hale. Zapata did not survive the shooting.
Hale said Avila is in daily contact with ICE and recovering in the U.S.
Avila was spotted last week in Washington at Police Week, an annual gathering of law enforcement. Events during Police Week include a candlelight vigil for slain law enforcement officers. Avila and Zapata were ambushed on a road about four hours north of Mexico.
Avila wants to testify about his case, according to a Congressional committee.
In late March, Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management, which was conducting a hearing on U.S. Homeland Security and Mexican drug cartels, said:
“I’ve been in contact with the Department of Justice after meeting with Agent Avila, who expressed his willingness to testify here today.
“However, the Department of Justice objected to that request as he is a material witness in an ongoing criminal investigation and for his personal safety. Better judgment, in my view, was to not call him as a witness, but I do believe that his story needs to be told.”
