ERO Detroit removes Medellin cartel member

DETROIT - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit removed Fabio-Ochoa Vasquez, a citizen of Colombia with an expedited order of removal, to Colombia Dec. 23.

Ochoa, a member of the Medellin cartel, was convicted on drug charges in the Southern District of Florida Aug. 26, 2003, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

“Ochoa was convicted on multiple drug charges to include conspiracy to import and conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute large amounts of narcotics to flood American communities,” said ERO Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch. “His removal is the final step in our commitment to hold international drug traffickers accountable for their crimes, no matter how much time has passed.”

The United States Marshals Service extradited Ochoa to the United States, Sept. 8, 2001. On this same date, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service paroled him into the U.S. for criminal prosecution in Miami, Florida.

Officers with ERO Detroit arrested Ochoa Dec. 3, 2024, and served him with an order of expedited removal upon his release from Federal Correctional Institution Milan in Milan, Michigan.

As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s three operational directorates, Enforcement and Removal Operations 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.

Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing ICE’s online tip form.

Learn more about ERO’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ERODetroit.