LOS INDIOS, Texas (AP) -- The body of a slain Mexican journalist was
                  dumped across the border in Texas as federal agents looked on.

                  Border Patrol agents were watching the area Sunday and saw two men carry a
                  large bundle across the Rio Grande, dump it on the U.S. bank and return to
                  Mexico.

                  The agents assumed the bundle dumped in Los Indios, 15 miles south of
                  Harlingen, contained something illegal and waited for someone to pick it up.
                  They eventually went to inspect it and discovered the body of Pablo Pineda, 38,
                  his head covered with a plastic bag, Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said.

                  Pineda, who lived in Matamoros, Mexico, had been shot in the back of the head
                  with a 9 mm gun, Lucio said.

                  "It was an execution-style shooting," Lucio said.

                  For the last eight months, Pineda had been a reporter and photographer for La
                  Opinion in Matamoros. He had survived a previous shooting. His aggressive style
                  made him unpopular with the police and criminals, said Martin Castillo, the
                  newspaper's chief police reporter.

                  "He was a strong person who wanted to discover and uncover anything
                  criminal," Castillo said. "He was snooping. He wanted to cover every story
                  whether it be a murder, kidnapping or crashes."

                  Pineda had been severely beaten three years ago.

                  "He had a lot of enemies, Castillo said.