ICE removes Guatemalan fugitive sought for aggravated kidnapping
BUFFALO, N.Y.— A Guatemalan man, who recently concluded a two-year federal prison term for re-entry after deportation, and is wanted in his home country for aggravated kidnapping, was turned over to authorities in Guatemala Wednesday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Mynor Guillermo Pinto-Lopez , 35, was repatriated on board an ICE Air flight that originated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After arriving in Guatemala City, ERO officers transferred Pinto-Lopez to the custody of Guatemalan law enforcement.
"Mr. Pinto-Lopez will now have to face justice for his alleged criminal acts," said Michael Phillips, field office director for ERO Buffalo. "My office is committed to working closely with our foreign law enforcement partners to remove and return individuals like this, who are wanted for violent crimes in their home countries."
According to DHS databases, Pinto-Lopez was removed from the United States in 2009. After illegally entering at an unknown time, he was later convicted federally in 2014 for re-entry after deportation and sentenced to 24 months in prison, most of which he served at the Federal Correctional Institution at Ray Brook, New York. He was then transferred to the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility, where ICE officers made final preparations for his repatriation.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,789 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.
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