ERO Boston arrests former Brazilian military police officer convicted of multiple murders in 2015 Brazil massacre

BOSTON — On Aug. 14, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a former Brazilian military police officer in Rye, New Hampshire, who was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for his part in a 2015 Brazilian massacre.

Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho, 29, became the subject of an active Interpol Red Notice issued by the international criminal police organization after he was convicted of 11 murders and sentenced to 275 years and eleven months in prison in June 2023 by a criminal court in the state of Ceara, Brazil. Vidal was convicted, along with three other Brazilian military police officers, of 11 murder charges plus charges of attempted murder and physical and mental torture. The crimes took place in November 2015 during what’s come to be known as the “Curio Massacre” for the name of the neighborhood in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza where they occurred.

Officers with ERO Boston apprehended Vidal in Rye, New Hampshire, taking him into custody without incident. He will remain in ICE custody pending a hearing before a federal immigration judge.

Interpol is the international criminal police organization that supports law enforcement authorities worldwide to share and access data on crimes and criminals. An Interpol Red Notice serves as an international wanted notice and provides information on the identification of fugitives charged with or convicted of serious crimes who have fled prosecution or the serving of their sentence.

Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.

ERO officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

For more news and information on how the ERO Boston field office carries out its immigration enforcement mission, follow us on Twitter @EROBoston.