( CNN ) -- A Drug Enforcement Administration agent was killed in an apparent robbery attempt in Colombia , the agency announced Friday . Special Agent James `` Terry '' Watson , assigned to the DEA unit in Cartagena , was on temporary duty in Bogota . Watson died after being stabbed in a taxi cab Thursday night after leaving a Bogota restaurant , a law enforcement official said . Investigators believe Watson 's cab stopped at a traffic light and his assailants jumped out of two other cabs which pulled up on either side of the vehicle in which he was riding , the official said . The official said taxi vehicle robberies are part of what are called `` millionaire ride '' thefts . There 's no suggestion the suspected robbers knew they had set upon a DEA agent . According to the official , Watson managed to escape from the cab and was taken to a hospital , where he died . Patrick Ventrell , a State Department spokesman , said earlier Thursday evening Watson watched the last game of the NBA finals at a restaurant with colleagues from the U.S. Embassy . The United States is working in close cooperation with Colombian authorities to find those responsible , Ventrell said . `` This is really a profound tragedy for our embassy community and indeed for our government . '' `` These are the worst days for anyone in law enforcement and we grieve Terry 's loss , '' said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart . The DEA said Watson was a 13-year veteran of the agency . He had been sent to Afghanistan three times on counter-narcotics trafficking assignments and had previously served in the Army and worked for the U.S . Marshals Service .
Police mourns loss of special agent . He died in hospital during apparent assassination try . Police stopped cab , law enforcement official says .