Mexican criminal organizations, working with "domestic extremist groups," are offering cash bounties to assassinate U.S. federal agents, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.
Citing "credible information," DHS said the cartels are specifically targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection personnel in Chicago and other U.S. cities.
"These criminal networks have issued explicit instructions to U.S.-based sympathetics, including street gangs in Chicago, to monitor, harass, and assassinate federal agents," the DHS said in the release.
The department said the coordination includes spotter networks, structured bounties, and local logistical support from extremist groups.
DHS intelligence reports indicate that gang members, including individuals tied to the Latin Kings, have positioned "spotters" on rooftops in Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods.
These spotters, equipped with firearms and radios, are allegedly tracking the movements of ICE and CBP agents in real time.
The department said this live surveillance has led to ambushes and disruptions during federal enforcement actions, including during Operation Midway Blitz, an ongoing DHS initiative.
The statement describes a structured bounty system used by cartels to incentivize attacks on U.S. personnel:
- $2,000 for gathering or publishing private information about agents, including photos and family details.
- $5,000 to $10,000 for kidnapping or nonlethal assaults on ICE or CBP officers.
- Up to $50,000 for the assassination of high-ranking officials.
The report also says extremist groups in Portland and Chicago, including factions of antifa, have provided logistical support to cartel-linked networks.
That support allegedly includes prestaged protest materials, doxing agent identities, and physically interfering with federal operations to protect individuals facing deportation.
"These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law, they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"Our agents are facing ambushes, drone surveillance, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress," Noem said.
"We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice."
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