HSI, Honduran authorities arrest 2 fugitives wanted on homicide charges

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A multi-agency law enforcement operation along the Honduran and Nicaraguan border Tuesday yielded the arrest of two Honduran fugitives wanted on homicide charges. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents from the HSI Assistant Attaché Office in Honduras, the Honduran National Police's Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol participated in the operation focused on border security.

Victor Samuel Vargas Giron, 20, and Wilson Adalid Beltran, 24, allegedly raped and killed Escolasticos Bustillo Landero. According to local police, the homicide occurred in June outside of a local bar in Cifuentes. It's alleged that Vargas Giron and Adalid Beltran used a bicycle chain to choke Landero.

Not linked to the homicide case, law enforcement also arrested Ramon Aristides Sanchez Lopez, 46, who was in possession of a 9 mm pistol, one air rifle, eight cellular phones, 9 mm and 44 caliber ammunition, several identification documents that were not his and six bags containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine.

"Operations like this speak to the successful bilateral relationship that exists between our countries," said Richard Rodriguez, assistant attaché for Honduras. "We will continue working alongside our law enforcement colleagues in our shared pursuit of peace and justice."

Attorneys with the Honduran Attorney General's office are handling the prosecution of the cases.

Through ICE's Office of International Operations, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has 67 attaché offices in 48 countries around the world. HSI special agents work closely with foreign law enforcement agencies and a robust network of specialized, vetted units known as Transnational Criminal Investigative Units. Additionally, HSI brings personnel from countries across the globe to train at the Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.