News Releases and Statements

The 300th capture was Elmer Francisco Reyes, a 30-year-old Honduran man, wanted on a warrant for aggravated sexual assault by Honduran law enforcement authorities who issued a warrant for his arrest in August 2010.

Walter Antonio Larios-Hernandez, 34, a citizen of El Salvador, was arrested on the morning of Aug. 14 after ERO officers located him outside of a residence in Norfolk. Larios-Hernandez was convicted in New Mexico of criminal sexual penetration of a child in 2003 and had separate convictions in Virginia including a conviction for driving under the influence in 2007.

Alexander Pineda-Ponce, 33, was flown to El Salvador Aug. 14 onboard a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations (IAO) Unit. Upon arrival, Pineda was turned over to officials from the El Salvador’s Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).

According to Guatemalan authorities Oscar Lopez Guerra, 32, is wanted on possession of firearms charges after he allegedly was involved in a carjacking attempt that resulted in one innocent bystander’s death and another person wounded.

Florin Hristea, 36, who also goes by Constantin Pendus, was going through immigration proceedings in the United States when Romanian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in December 2012 to serve five years in prison for a conviction of fraud and using forged documents.

On June 17, the Des Moines Fugitive Operations Team arrested Ceu Awi Thang, 30, a citizen and national of Burma, who had been convicted for the sexual abuse of 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to prison for ten years, two years of supervised probation and ordered to register as a sex offender on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for the rest of his life.

Timoteo Gonzalez-Leiva, 42, of Honduras, was encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in January following the completion of his prison sentence for a battery conviction in Caddo Parish.

Thirty fugitive or convicted criminal aliens were arrested in or around Oklahoma City, or around Guymon, Oklahoma, during a four-day initiative that ended Sunday, and was conducted by local officers from ICE ERO.

Fourteen convicted criminal aliens were arrested in Lubbock during a four-day initiative that ended Sunday which was conducted by local officers from ICE ERO.

Overall, their convictions include: driving while intoxicated, assault with bodily injury on a family member, purchasing/furnishing alcohol to a minor, engaging in organized criminal activity, alien smuggling and theft.

William Antonio Martinez-Aguilar, 36, was turned over to Mexican Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and Interpol officers without incident through the Nogales, DeConcini Port of Entry in Arizona on July 21 about 3 p.m.

On July 17, officers removed Alexander Mendoza-Hernandez to El Salvador, where he was wanted for extortion. In a separate case, Cesar David Rodriguez Lopez, of Guatemala, was wanted by Guatemalan authorities on three criminal warrants for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and forged documents.

Lucio Quiroz-Beltran, 41, was transferred by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office at the Nogales-Grand Avenue port of entry. Quiroz is charged in an arrest warrant issued in November 2014 with a homicide committed in Sinaloa, Mexico, in April 2014.

Eighty-two convicted criminal aliens were arrested during a five-day enforcement action which ended Friday and was conducted by officers with ICE ERO in the Houston area.

Walter Guillermo Reyes, 42, was repatriated on board a charter flight coordinated by ERO’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, ERO officers turned the suspect over to officials from Guatemala’s Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).

Yoeldis Melian-Mastrapa, 29, is the latest removal among eight Cuban nationals implicated in a human trafficking ring that allegedly operated in Ecuador. The ring was discovered in December 2013 as a result of a joint investigation between ICE HSI Attaché Office in Ecuador and the Ecuadorian government.

Babar Ahmad, 41, was extradited to the United States in 2012 to face charges for operating a family of websites collectively known as Azzam Publications, which an HSI investigation determined was established to “incite the believers” and also to raise money for known terrorist groups, including the Taliban.

Julio Cesar Reyes-Rodriguez, 42, was transferred by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office at the San Ysidro port of entry. Reyes-Rodriguez is charged with murder in an arrest warrant issued in May by the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (PGJDF).

Farhad Jenabfar was transferred into the custody of Canadian authorities upon his arrival at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

According to Salvadoran police reports, on May 19, 2011, Jose Genaro Mendez Mendez and his MS-13 associates allegedly threatened to kill a man if he failed to pay $4,000 in U.S. currency. Mendez Mendez allegedly collected $1,500 in U.S. currency and immediately fled the scene with his associates.

According to court documents, Henok Dejene Retta, 30, of Ethopia, verbally and physically resisted two attempts by ICE ERO officers to place him aboard a commercial flight from the Alexandria International Airport in November 2013 and again in January 2014.

Gabriel Collado-Rodriguez, 40, was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice when he was arrested June 2 as part of a nationwide roundup of foreign fugitives residing in the United States by ERO and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Those arrested include: a 43-year-old previously deported Mexican national whose list of criminal history includes convictions for child molestation, and a DUI resulting in death; a 20-year old legal permanent resident from Mexico with a conviction for drug trafficking; and a previously deported 49-year old Mexican national convicted of possessing of stolen mail.

Fadil Abdelghani, 52, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his part in the 1994 conspiracy headed by the blind Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman to target the United Nations, FBI offices and other New York City landmarks.