A Venezuelan national on Interpol’s Top 10 Most Wanted Suspects list was arrested in New Braunfels last week.
Aderbis Segundo Pirela, 29, was apprehended as part of a joint operation between Homeland Security and state and local authorities, reported Fox News. He is now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but prosecutors in Colombia are reportedly already preparing for his extradition so he can face charges of homicide, extortion, and drug trafficking.
A statement from ICE indicated that Pirela has been in the United States since January 2, having crossed unlawfully near Eagle Pass. He was apprehended near El Paso but was given an order of recognizance from federal immigration authorities and released on January 5. He was arrested again on March 12 by special agents with Homeland Security and transferred to ICE custody, according to KENS 5.
It is unclear when Pirela’s criminal history became apparent to federal authorities. He is suspected of being a high-ranking leader of the Los Satanás gang based in Bogotá, according to Fox.
“[Pirela’s] role within these organizations was to distribute pamphlets, collect extortion, and when they did not pay it, he obviously threatened or made an attack against the victims or their relatives,” explained Leonor Merchán Lopera, sectional director of the Bogotá Prosecutor’s Office, per KENS 5.
Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán expressed concern that Pirela would continue to run gang-related affairs from jail and called on authorities to take action in his country.
As covered by The Dallas Express, there have been record-high levels of unlawful migration into the United States from the southern border, with U.S. Border Patrol coming across a significant number of unlawful migrants with felony convictions.
Recent headlines have also seen unlawful migrants accused of committing heinous crimes within the United States. For instance, 33-year-old Ervin Jeovany Alfaro Lopez of El Salvador has been charged with nearly two dozen counts of child sex abuse, and 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra of Venezuela faces a murder charge in connection with the death of University of Georgia student Laken Riley.
At the same time, the expulsion of unlawful migrants from Venezuela has complicated matters, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Those arriving in the United States prior to July 31, 2023, have been granted temporary protected status, and their home country is refusing to accept any deportees.