A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been shot dead and a second wounded in Mexico.
Officials say the pair, described as "special agents" shot "in the line of duty", were driving between Mexico City and northern city of Monterrey.
An official told AP they had been attacked after stopping at a security checkpoint in San Luis Potosi state.
The attack comes as a US report says a fifth of the Mexico border, some 375 miles (600km), is not properly guarded.
The investigative arm of Congress, the General Accounting Office (GAO), said the area lacked enough border agents to stop illicit activity such as gun running and illegal immigration.
'Line of duty'
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency described the two victims as "special agents" based in the US capital, AFP reports.
The agency said they were "shot in the line of duty" on Tuesday.
The attack occurred some 200 miles (320 km) north of Mexico City, a spokeswoman for the state's public security office told Reuters.
The agency said it was working with the state department, US law enforcement and Mexican authorities to investigate the shooting.
Though there are high levels of violence among members of competing drug cartels within Mexico, US officials are rarely targeted.
However, in March 2010 a US consulate employee, her husband and a Mexican linked to the American consulate were killed by drug gang members in Ciudad Juarez.
In July, it temporarily closed the consulate in the city after receiving unspecified threats.
The GAO report said the US had spent $3bn last year on controlling its southern border.
It said it had been able to increase the area under control by building more fences and almost doubling the number of agents from 10,000 to 17,500.
Security at the US-Mexico border has long been a hot political issue, with many in the Southern United States calling for more to be done to stop drug smugglers and human traffickers from entering the US.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-latin-america-12476900
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