ICE arrests former Colombian Army commander

DALLAS - A former Colombian National Army battalion commander was arrested Feb. 28 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Retired Lt. Col. Hector Alejandro Cabuya de León, 52, was arrested by special agents from HSI’s Dallas office. He is wanted in his native country on criminal charges for forced disappearance, homicide of a protected person, and weapons and ammunition trafficking.

HSI Special Agents encountered Cabuya de León at his residence, and, with the help of local police, arrested him.

Due to the nature of the allegations against him in Colombia, the enforcement effort targeting Cabuya de León is supported by ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC). Established in 2009 to further ICE’s efforts to identify, track and prosecute human rights abusers, the HRVWCC leverages the expertise of a select group of agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians and analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.

Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 380 individuals for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and/or immigration statutes. During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders against and physically removed 785 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States. Additionally, ICE has facilitated the departure of an additional 108 such individuals from the United States.

Currently, HSI has more than 160 active investigations into suspected human rights violators and is pursuing more than 1,750 leads and removals cases involving suspected human rights violators from 95 different countries. Since 2003, the HRVWCC has issued more than 70,400 lookouts for individuals from more than 110 countries and stopped 213 human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the U.S.

Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are urged to call the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2423 (1-866-347-2423). Callers may remain anonymous. To learn more about the assistance available to victims in these cases, the public should contact ICE’s confidential victim-witness toll-free number at 1-866-872-4973.