ICE removes Mexican national wanted for homicide

RALEIGH, N.C. – A man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in Mexico City was deported Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and turned over to the Procuradoria General de Justicia de Distrito Federal (PGJ-DF) for prosecution there.

Salvador Vera-Olmeda, 34, a citizen of Mexico who had illegally re-entered and been removed from the United States, faces homicide charges in the June 2010 shooting death of 23-year-old Catherine Hernandez Ojeda.

Special agents from the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Attaché Mexico City office were contacted by Mexican officials with a request for assistance in locating Vera, who was believed to be residing in Raleigh. HSI special agents developed a lead and forwarded their findings to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Fugitive Operations Team in Raleigh. Team officers arrested Vera Feb. 8. At the time of arrest, Vera was living under an assumed name and had a valid Mexican passport in that name.

"Fugitives from justice will find no welcome in the United States; we will find them wherever they choose to hide," said Felicia Skinner, field office director of ERO Atlanta. "The teamwork by HSI and ERO offices and Mexican law enforcement personnel demonstrates a commitment to uphold public safety." Skinner oversees ERO activities in Georgia and the Carolinas.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 566 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 ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States.