ICE deports 2 Mexican fugitives wanted for murder and weapons violations

EL PASO, Texas - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers deported two men - one wanted for murder and the other for weapons violations - to Mexico on Monday.

Luis Armando Rodriguez-Anaya, 32, and Esteban Lopez-Estrada, 58, were turned over to Mexican authorities at approximately 10 a.m. Monday at the Port of El Paso's Stanton Street Bridge.

Rodriguez-Anaya is wanted by Chihuahua, Mexico, authorities for the 2001 murder of Victor Manuel Delgado-Montoya. Rodriguez-Anaya allegedly shot and killed Delgado-Montoya after an argument. ICE Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) officers arrested Rodriguez-Anaya June 24 in Chicago as he left his residence.

Esteban Lopez-Estrada is wanted by authorities in Guanajuato, Mexico, on multiple charges, including possession of military-style weapons and munitions. He is also wanted for possessing and trafficking items made from animals that are in danger of extinction.

ICE officers located Lopez-Estrada in June at the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, N.M., where he was serving a two-year sentence for smuggling, aiding and abetting and money laundering. Lopez-Estrada entered the United States in 2007 with a border crossing card, which permits only brief visits.

"ICE is strongly committed to continuing efforts to rid the homeland of fugitives who are wanted for serious crimes in their home countries," said Robert Jolicoeur, field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in El Paso.

To date this year, ICE has deported more than a dozen fugitives wanted for serious crimes in Mexico as part of a bi-national agreement between ICE and the Office of the Attorney General of Mexico.