News Releases and Statements

On March 20, ERO New York City arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Colombia and suspected member of a transnational organized criminal enterprise known as a South American Theft Group.

ERO Chicago arrested Adelvis Rodriguez-Carmona, an unlawfully present citizen of Venezuela and member of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization.

Phil Cuellar III, a 36-year-old resident of Corpus Christi and documented gang member, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 168 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines.

ERO New York City arrested an unlawfully present Salvadoran citizen Nov. 8 who is wanted in El Salvador for terror-related activity. The foreign fugitive is a known 18th Street gang member and an active member of the Colombia Little Cycos Surenos clique.

Operation Tin Man focused on MS-13’s criminal activity in the Northern Virginia area. The operation yielded significant convictions for five MS-13 members, including a life sentence for the leader of one MS-13 clique. The investigation led to convictions for racketeering, murder, attempted murder and drug distribution.

Kevin Castro Garcia, 31, was arrested Oct. 10 and booked into the Davidson County Jail by the Nashville Metro Police Department on criminal homicide charges for the death and burning of a 37-year-old man. On the same day, ERO New Orleans — which covers operations in Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama — placed a detainer on Castro Garcia.

The strategy announced today leverages HSI’s extensive expertise in investigating cross-border criminal activity and its unique access to customs and financial data to prevent illicit shipments of drug precursor chemicals from reaching U.S. borders. Interrupting the precursor supply chain further prevents the synthesis of drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamines. 

On Sept. 7, HSI Houston, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and various other federal, state and local law enforcement authorities announced charges brought against 39 individuals under the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Houston Violent Crime Initiative.

Sequeira-Thomas, a self-admitted member of a Nicaraguan prison gang, told agents he was convicted and served time in his home country for the 2011 murder of his wife.

Karla Jackelin Morales, a 24-year-old resident of Houston, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced in Harris County for her role in the 2018 killing of Jose Alfonso Villanueva.

On March 6, a federal judge sentenced Jose Domingo Ordonez-Zometa, 33, of Landover Hills, for racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering conspiracies, committing murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to destroy and conceal evidence connected to his participation a transnational criminal enterprise.

On Feb. 22, Mexican authorities located Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, aka Vampiro de Monserrat Criminales; Walter Yovani Hernandez-Rivera, aka Baxter de Park View and Bastard de Park View; and Marlon Antonio Menjivar-Portillo, aka Rojo de Park View, and expelled them from Mexico via the United States.

Gerber Membreno-Portillo, 22, has an active arrest warrant in El Salvador for the crime of aggravated terrorist organizations (MS-13) against the public peace and security of the state.

Reyna, Coleman and Martinez are documented La Quarenta gang members.

Tony “Klownman” Torres, a 53-year-old resident of Harlingen, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Torres pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 8.

Edwing Edgardo Ramos-Alvarado, 39, entered the United States at an unknown date and location without being admitted or paroled by an immigration officer.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners from across the United States, including HSI, executed a nationwide, coordinated takedown Nov. 2 of leaders and associates of a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors for their roles in conspiracies involving stolen catalytic converters sold to a metal refinery for tens of millions of dollars. Arrests, searches, and seizures took place in California, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wyoming. In total, 21 individuals in five states have been arrested and/or charged for their roles in the conspiracy.

Jesse Paul “JP” Blankenship, a 39-year-old resident of Stratford, Missouri, received the sentence in the Eastern District of Texas after being convicted on Nov. 16, 2021, of racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in aid of racketeering.

The 10 individuals indicted included Franklin Trejo-Chavarria, 25; Julio Vigil-Lopez, 25; Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia, 25; Luis Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza, 30; Carlos Alexi Garcia-Gongora, 24; Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia, 26; Angel Miguel Aguilar-Ochoa, 37; Marlon Miranda-Moran, 23; Wilman Rivas-Guido, 26; and Carlos Elias Henriquez-Torres, 22. All ten defendants are citizens of El Salvador.

The individuals arrested pursuant to state arrest warrants for engaging in organized criminal activity include Timothy Ngo, 51, Henry Pham, 55, Quoc Bao Le, 39, Tran Le, 45, and Tram Le, 47.

Denis Matute pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence on Nov. 2, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Jorge Alberto Quintanilla Marquez, 42, was arrested outside his residence in West Springfield, Virginia, July 22. The arrest was the result of many months of work by ICE ERO with the assistance of the FBI.

Jose Mojica Aldana, a native and citizen of El Salvador, was arrested near his residence. Mojica Aldana entered the United States without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by an immigration officer.

The individuals arrested pursuant to state arrest warrants for their alleged roles in the theft ring were Jose Martinez, 19; Armando Martinez, 18; Isaac Castillo, 21; Terance Elder, 20; and Armando Martinez Sr., 39; all residents of Houston, and Jose Sanchez, a 21-year-old resident of Dayton, Texas.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial of three co-defendants, Juan Garcia-Gomez, aka Scooby, 26, of El Salvador, conspired to participate in the affairs of Mara Salvatrucha, a violent criminal gang also known as MS-13, founded in Los Angeles and active in numerous states across the United States, as well as in El Salvador, Central America, and Mexico.