By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Husband, father, son, grandson, brother to a twin sister and an older sister, nephew, and uncle, Victor Avila is first and foremost a family man. “We all just spent two weeks together, said Claudia, Victor Avila’s wife.
“It takes a lot of coordination for us to get together now that everyone is older,” said Avila. “My parents have been in the same home for 42 years. Going there is a safe place for me,” he added.
Serving as a federal special agent delving into human trafficking, cartels, and other violent criminal activity, Avila learned the world is not as safe as he experienced when he was a child. “I felt very safe as a kid in El Paso,” said Avila.
Growing up he played soccer, went to church and school, helped with household chores, and studied Shotokan Karate. He was a self-described well behaved young man with a very clean bedroom.
His twin sister and he never shared the same classes. His parents and teachers felt it was best to keep them on their own individual tracks. She became an attorney meanwhile, he went into law enforcement.
“I signed up with the El Paso Police Explorers when I was a teenager” said Avila. As an Explorer, he went on ride arounds, learned about crowd control and other entry level skills used in law enforcement.
“I realized while I was an explorer, police are just like the rest of us, they are people,” said Avila.
While majoring in criminal justice at the University of Texas in El Paso, he set his sights on federal law enforcement. “I had an internship with US Customs and met special agents. That’s when I said I want to be that guy,” said Avila. His first position out of college was with the Texas State Police.
Next stop Avila worked as a Federal Probation Officer first in San Antonio then in El Paso. Moving onto his dream job he served as a US Customs agent. With his ambition and skills, he moved up to Supervisory Special Agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) which is under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
February 15, 2011 was a tragic day that changed his track for the rest of his life. While serving as a federal special agent on assignment in Mexico, he and his partner, Jamie Zapata were ambushed by members of the Los Zetas drug cartel.
Special agent, Jamie Zapata, was killed in the ambush. Avila lived but suffered numerous gunshot wounds leaving life-long medical complications including PTSD.
“I still go for counseling once a week,” said Avila. He was granted medical retirement from his law enforcement career on May 1st, 2015.
Sitting at home at the age of 42, Avila was coping with depression, anxiety, night terrors, and physical pain. To make matters worse, the criminals who killed his partner were not going to prison due to legal loop-holes. In honor and memory of his partner, Jamie Zapata, Avila decided to get vocal and work for changes.
Because of Avila’s efforts, U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Federal Law Enforcement Protection Act. This law, if passed, will insure that anyone who kills or attempts to kill a federal officer and employees outside of the United States may be tried for their crime in a U.S. court of law.
He authored a book titled, Agent Under Fire: a Murder and a Manifesto. His book describes the ambush in detail along with a close-up view of his life in law enforcement and the impact it had on his family. The book also includes Avila’s suggestions on how to improve U.S. border security.
Avila is now an outspoken advocate for protecting the sovereignty of our nation, border security, immigration reform, and human trafficking awareness.
Speaking engagements and book signings fill his days as he becomes widely known throughout Texas and other areas in the Southwest. His passionate presentation captivated the Pachyderm Club of Galveston as he shared details of the ambush and his first-hand reports on current conditions at the U.S. border.
