News Releases and Statements

ICE ERO Los Angeles removed Dany Barrientos, a 40-year-old Guatemalan national wanted for rape and violent abuse in Guatemala, June 14. Barrientos was removed to Guatemala, where he was turned over to the proper authorities to face justice.

This return of these ancient coins was made possible by the investigative efforts of HSI Chicago, HSI’s Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities (CPAA) program, and law enforcement partners at CBP.

Hosted by the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria, the InterCOP conference brought together 50 delegates from 25 nations, including the United States, to highlight best practices in youth offender prevention to combat the rise in cybercrime.

A joint investigation involving HSI Baltimore landed a Salvadoran national 26 years in federal prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that included murder, drug distribution and firearms charges. Jose Lopez-Rivera, 27, of Elmont, New York, received the lengthy prison sentence May 31 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore.

Since 2017, these federal partners have focused on darknet drug vendors and cryptocurrency-enabled crimes. Ever-evolving technology has allowed drug traffickers and other criminal actors to expand into the digital world and use the darknet to engage in their illegal activity.

The operation took place June 5 through June 9 and resulted in hundreds of arrests, as well as gun and drug seizures. Officials made more than 580 arrests, over 420 of which were for felonies. They also seized nearly 520,000 fentanyl pills and more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine, as well as over 40 weapons from prohibited possessors.

Special agents with HSI Douglas and detectives with Sierra Vista Police Department under the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested three people after separate investigations in Sierra Vista.

The United States removes foreign nationals – according to U.S. law – who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States. This policy applies to all noncitizens regardless of nationality.

Wayne Joseph Cavins, 64, of Deltona, Florida, was also ordered to serve a life term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. He had pleaded guilty on Nov. 15, 2022.

Iven Henrique Pimentel Travassos, 39, a citizen of Portugal, entered the United States in 2008 as a noncitizen and violated terms of admission.

ERO Los Angeles officers arrested Luis Alejandro Bazan, 23, following a targeted enforcement operation in Hawthorne, California on April 18. ERO Los Angeles served Bazan with a Notice of Intent/Decision to Reinstate Prior Order of Removal.

The man is an unlawfully present Mexican national who was convicted in April 2019 by the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and sentenced to six years in the Illinois DOC. He was later paroled in April to complete his sentence on electronic monitoring.

The 22-year-old Mexican native, who entered the U.S. legally on Sept. 2, 2019, was arrested after the U.S. Department of State notified ERO Chicago about an active arrest warrant in Mexico.

The United States removes foreign nationals – according to U.S. law – who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States. This policy applies to all noncitizens regardless of nationality.

In June 2018, the 29-year-old Brazilian citizen was granted entrance into the United States for six months under a visitor visa, but he remained in the country for five years beyond the visa’s terms.

ERO Newark arrested nine noncitizens with criminal records and ties to South American theft groups in New Jersey on June 8.

Manuel Ochoa-Vasquez, 39, of Paso Hondo, Mexico, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2022, to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The United States removes foreign nationals – according to U.S. law – who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States. This policy applies to all noncitizens regardless of nationality.

ERO New York City removed Denon Amen Osunde, a Nigerian national, from the United States to Nigeria on June 5.

This new system gives noncitizens the option to update their information online in addition to the existing options of doing so by phone or in-person. It will enable noncitizens to comply with their immigration obligations more easily and improve the accuracy of address information reported to ICE by utilizing address autofill to ensure U.S. Postal Service standardization.

Francisco Montero-Ramirez, 30, was flown to Honduras, on a flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit, where he was transferred to Honduran authorities.

Jose Sebastian Cobian Ceballos, 22, was removed at the Stanton Street Bridge — an international port of entry in El Paso — where Mexican law enforcement authorities took him into custody for an outstanding homicide warrant.

All four defendants — Willie Mitchell, Sean Swaringer, Kimberly Coleman and Jason Coleman — pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

Roberto Cruz-Moreno, 23, of Woodbridge; Marvin Torres, 22, of Manassas; Kevin Perez-Sandoval, 25, of Warrenton; and Jose Rosales-Juarez, 32, of Manassas, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 20 years for drug distribution, racketeering, and their roles in two attempted murders in Prince William County in 2019.

The 22-year-old man is the subject of an active Interpol Red Notice and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Minas Gerais, Brazil, in October 2022.