U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has returned Ariel Nunez Figueroa, a 30-year-old Mexican national, to Mexico. Nunez was wanted in connection with the kidnapping and organized crime related to the murder of 43 students from Ayotzinapa Teachers' College in September 2014.
Nunez was moved from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas, where he was handed over to Mexican authorities.
"For nearly eleven years, this foreign fugitive evaded authorities while the family and friends of those 43 students who were brutally murdered patiently awaited justice for their loved ones," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. "Thanks to outstanding teamwork by ICE, Interpol and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, we were able to successfully track him down and remove him to Mexico to face prosecution for his alleged crimes."
The exact date and location of Nunez's illegal entry into the United States are unknown. On September 3, 2024, ICE received information from Interpol suggesting that Nunez might be residing in the Houston area. ICE officers quickly located him and took him into custody on September 9, 2024. An immigration judge ordered his removal on January 22.
For more information about ICE's enforcement efforts in Texas, follow them on X at @EROHouston.