A fugitive listed among El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted Criminals was arrested in Virginia earlier this month despite having been deported to his home country twice before.
Herberth Bonilla-García, 40, was detained on December 1 by officers from the US Department of Deportation Operations and Immigration Enforcement and Customs Enforcement.
HONDURAS DECLARES A STATE OF EMERGENCY DUE TO GANG VIOLENCE IN THE COUNTRY
Herberth Bonilla-Garcia, 40, who is listed as one of El Salvador’s 100 most wanted criminals, was captured in Virginia on December 1.
(US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
“Herberth Bonilla-Garcia has a history of entering the US illegally and this time he apparently did so to escape justice in his home country,” said ERO Washington, DC Deputy Field Office Director Erik Weiss “America is not a safe haven for the world’s criminals.”
The Central American nation issued arrest warrants in January and April 2015 for Bonilla García on suspicion of conspiracy and aggravated extortion. Crime Stoppers El Salvador said Bonilla-García is a member of the MS-13 street gang.
Immigration authorities received a tip from the FBI on Oct. 14 that Bonilla-Garcia was possibly in Virginia. He is being held in ICE custody pending deportation to El Salvador.
He was previously deported from the US in 2006 and 2012.
Street gangs in El Salvador have become one of the country’s biggest criminal problems, as their members engage in murder and extortion, charging protection money from businesses, taxi drivers and bus drivers, and shop owners.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Lawmakers recently extended President Nayib Bukele’s emergency powers to crack down on gangs for the ninth straight month. The crackdown began in March after a spike in killings.
