ICE removes MS-13 gang
member wanted for attempted murder in El Salvador
MIAMI – A Salvadoran MS-13
gang member, illegally present in the United States and wanted in his native
country for attempted aggravated homicide, was removed Friday by officers with
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal
Operations (ERO).
German Reyes-Benitez, 22, is
wanted for attempted aggravated homicide, in El Salvador. On Nov. 29, 2016,
Reyes Benitez was ordered removed from the United States by a federal
immigration judge.
ERO Miami deportation officers
transferred Mr. Reyes from the Krome Detention Center on Thursday to Alexandria, Louisiana,
where Mr. Reyes was then removed Friday via an ICE Air charter flight to San
Salvador, El Salvador. Upon arrival, Ramos was turned over to officials from El
Salvador’s Civilian National Police (PCN).
“Returning
any member of a transnational gang who is unlawfully present in the country is
a high priority for our agency, especially those who are wanted in their home
countries for allegedly committing crimes,” said Marc J. Moore, field office
director for ICE ERO in Miami. “ICE will continue to work with our
international law enforcement partners in locating fugitives who look to avoid
prosecution for crimes that they commit in their homeland. As a result, our
communities are safer and more secure.”
ERO El Salvador and Security Alliance for
Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Initiative were instrumental with providing
essential documentation in regards to Mr. Reyes’ history used during his immigrations
proceedings that resulted in his removal to El Salvador to face justice for his
crime.
Such coordination is possible due to the
continued good working relationship the Assistant Attache for
Removal in El Salvador is experiencing with El Salvador Immigration (DGME), the
PNC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Health, and Salvadoran
Attorney General’s Office. To date, the ERO Office in El Salvador, through the
SAFE Initiative, has removed and facilitated the PNC’s ability to arrest more
than 800 criminal fugitives to El Salvador.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than
1,700 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native
countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. In fiscal
year 2016, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. Ninety-two percent of
individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been
convicted of a criminal offense.
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