HOUSTON — A Salvadoran fugitive and known MS-13 gang member wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country was removed Thursday by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Victor Manuel Campos Cruz, 27, was flown from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, to the Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador, on a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, Campos Cruz was turned over to officials from El Salvador’s Civilian National Police (PNC).
“Identifying and removing foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority,” said ICE Field Office Director Patrick Contreras, with the Houston office of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). “The ongoing cooperation between the United States and Salvadoran governments resulted in this foreign fugitive being safely returned to his home country where he will stand trial for his alleged crimes.”
Campos Cruz was encountered Jan. 2, 2019, by immigration officials at the Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) after he was arrested on local criminal charges. On March 6, an immigration judge ordered Campos Cruz removed to El Salvador.
ICE removed or returned 258,085 aliens in fiscal year 2018. ERO arrested 158,581 aliens, 90 percent of whom had criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, or previously issued final orders. The overall arrest figure represents an 11 percent increase over fiscal year 2017.
