How many ICE agents have been killed or injured by cartel violence since 2020?

1. High‑profile historical case often cited: Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila

Reporting and official ICE releases in the collection document the 2011 ambush that killed ICE HSI Special Agent Jaime Zapata and wounded Special Agent Victor Avila; two cartel members were convicted in that case, which is repeatedly referenced to illustrate the small number of U.S. federal agents directly killed overseas by cartels (ICE press releases and archived coverage) ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

2. Recent DHS messaging highlights threats but not a cumulative casualty count

The Department of Homeland Security material in the set describes “credible intelligence” of cartel‑originated bounties on ICE and CBP personnel, and references ambushes, drone surveillance, and real‑time spotter networks — but it does not provide a single figure for agents killed or injured nationally since 2020 ^[3]. DHS statements signal elevated risk and list types of violent actions and bounty amounts ($2,000–$50,000 tiers), but do not translate that threat intelligence into a verified tally of agent casualties ^{[3] [4]}.

3. Media coverage in these sources documents attacks, local shootings and contested incidents

The provided news items include accounts of agents being shot at or fired upon during operations (for example, recent Chicago area incidents described by CNN and other outlets), and domestic confrontations in 2024–2025 where agents were fired upon or involved in shootings — yet these articles report incidents, investigations, or legal fallout rather than compiling a nationwide total of cartel‑caused injuries and deaths among ICE personnel ^{[6] [7] [8]}.

4. Disagreement and skepticism in the record about cartel‑directed attacks

Some reporting in the collection records skepticism from Mexican officials and outside analysts about DHS’s claims that cartels are directing U.S.‑based groups to target immigration officials; The Guardian piece cites Mexican leaders disputing the allegation and experts saying it is unlikely cartels would openly order hits on U.S. officials, showing competing viewpoints on the scale and intent behind alleged threats ^[9]. That disagreement means any attempt to convert DHS threat assertions into casualty numbers requires caution and corroboration.

5. What the provided sources explicitly do and do not say about casualty counts

The sources include detailed case law and prosecutions (Zapata case) and statements about threats and incidents (DHS press notices, CNN, local press), but none of the documents in this set publish a definitive, aggregate count of ICE agents killed or injured by cartel violence since 2020. Therefore, a precise numeric answer is not available in the current reporting ^{[1] [2] [3] [6]}.

6. How to get a reliable cumulative figure (what sources would be needed)

A credible, verifiable total would require either (a) an official count published by DHS/ICE or a federal law‑enforcement aggregate that explicitly lists agent fatalities/injuries tied to cartel violence since 2020, or (b) investigative compilation across DOJ, DHS, ICE, and local law‑enforcement incident logs with cross‑verification; neither is present in the supplied set. The documents here show that DHS can and does release incident and threat information, so an official tally — if produced — would most likely come from DHS/ICE or DOJ releases ^{[3] [1]}.

7. Takeaway and reporting caveats

Based on the materials provided, you cannot reliably state “X agents killed and Y injured since 2020” because the set lacks a cumulative, sourced figure; the record instead contains case‑level coverage (Zapata), government warnings about bounties and ambushes, and competing skepticism about the scope of cartel direction to U.S. groups ^{[1] [2] [3] [9]}. If you want a numerical answer, request official casualty statistics from DHS/ICE or DOJ releases, or supply additional sources that explicitly compile such a count.