Guatemalan Wanted For Murder Deported

Guatemalan murder suspect being escorted off a plane in Guatemala.

News Americas, GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Thurs. April 30 2015: A 24-year-old Guatemalan man wanted on murder charges in his home country has been sent packing.

Gilber Alonzo Hernandez Lopez, of Guatemala, was recently returned to his country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in New York.

He was charged with murder for his alleged involvement in the 2013 murder of his cousin. According to the Guatemalan Policia Nacional Civil (PNC), in October 2013, Lopez and two other men argued with Lopez’s cousin for an unknown reason. The cousin was later found dead after being shot in the head with a weapon allegedly belonging to Lopez.

Lopez, who entered the United States at an unknown place and time, was arrested by ERO officers in New York Dec. 14. He was charged with being in the country unlawfully and placed in removal proceedings. On Feb. 23, an immigration judge found him ineligible for immigration relief and ordered him removed from the United States.

“The arrest and removal of Lopez reflects ERO’s commitment not only to public safety in the United States but also abroad,” said New York Field Office Director Christopher Shanahan. “His case should send a message to others like him, that the United States will not be used as a safe haven for those fleeing justice.”

Since October 2009, ERO has removed more than 900 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.