ICE removes Mexican fugitive wanted for kidnapping, organized crime

HOUSTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Ariel Nunez Figueroa, a 30-year-old Mexican national, to Mexico March 6. Nunez was wanted in Mexico for kidnapping and organized crime for his alleged role in the murder of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers' College in September 2014.

ICE transported Nunez from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas, and he was turned over to Mexican authorities.

“For nearly eleven years, this foreign fugitive evaded authorities while the family and friends of those 43 students who were brutally murdered patiently awaited justice for their loved ones,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. “Thanks to outstanding teamwork by ICE, Interpol and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, we were able to successfully track him down and remove him to Mexico to face prosecution for his alleged crimes.”

Nunez illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date and at an unknown location. ICE received information from Interpol Sept. 3, 2024, indicating that he was potentially residing in the Houston area. ICE fugitive operations officers were able to quickly locate Nunez, and he was safely taken into custody Sept. 9, 2024. An immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Nunez removed to Mexico Jan. 22.

For more news and information on ICE’s efforts to enforce our nation’s immigration laws in Texas follow us on X at @EROHouston.