ICE deports former Colombian army commander wanted for human rights crimes
DALLAS – A former Colombian National Army battalion commander was deported Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) after a federal immigration judge found him removable.
Retired Lt. Col. Hector Alejandro Cabuya de León, 52, was the commander of the Pantano de Vargas Battalion of the Colombian Army in 2002 and 2003. He is wanted in his native country on criminal charges for forced disappearance, homicide of a protected person, and weapons and ammunition trafficking. The charges relate to the killing of four persons, allegedly outside of combat, who were nonetheless reported as combat causalities in October 2002. The allegations are among other incidents that were reported by military units as “positive” killings of guerrillas in combat, but later alleged to have been executions committed outside of combat. Such killings are referred to as “false positives.”
Special agents from ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas investigated Cabuya de León and with the help of local police arrested him. This case was litigated by ICE Office of the Chief Counsel in Dallas with the support of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) and OPLA Immigration Law and Practice Division.
“Those who attempt to evade the consequences of atrocities committed abroad by hiding in the U.S. will find no safe haven here,” said Simona Flores, field office director of ERO in Dallas. “ERO and HSI will continue to work with our foreign counterparts to pursue human rights violators and send them home to face justice.”
Established in 2009 to further ICE’s efforts to identify, track and prosecute human rights abusers, ICE Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) leverages the expertise of a select group of agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians and analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.
Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 380 individuals for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and/or immigration statutes. During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders against and physically removed 785 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States. Additionally, ICE has facilitated the departure of an additional 108 such individuals from the United States.
Currently, HSI has more than 160 active investigations into suspected human rights violators and is pursuing more than 1,750 leads and removals cases involving suspected human rights violators from 95 different countries. Since 2003, the HRVWCC has issued more than 70,400 lookouts for individuals from more than 110 countries and stopped 213 human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the U.S.
Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are urged to call the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2423 (1-866-347-2423). Callers may remain anonymous. To learn more about the assistance available to victims in these cases, the public should contact ICE’s confidential victim-witness toll-free number at 1-866-872-4973.
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