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20 June 2006
U.S., Mexico Team Up To Arrest Mexican Fugitive from Justice
Fugitive on U.S. "most wanted list" captured, customs enforcement agency says
Washington -- The United States and Mexico have teamed up to arrest a Mexican fugitive from justice who U.S. law authorities had put on their "most wanted list” of criminals.
In a June 19 statement, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said Pedro Castorena was arrested two days earlier in Guadalajara, Mexico, by Mexican law enforcement authorities with assistance from ICE agents.
ICE said a U.S. federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado, indicted Castorena in July 2005 on charges of conspiracy, fraud, misuse of visas and money laundering. The indictment alleges that Castorena is a founding member and the leader of the Castorena Family Organization, a criminal group engaged in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit immigration and identification documents throughout the United States.
In May 2006, ICE agents in Mexico located Castorena with the assistance of Mexican law authorities. After ICE obtained an arrest warrant, Mexican authorities arrested Castorena and are currently holding him, pending extradition to the United States, in a detention facility in Mexico City.
ICE's investigation in this case started in October 2000 when U.S. law enforcement agents began investigating the sale and distribution of counterfeit identity documents in Denver. Since 2000, ICE agents have arrested and presented for prosecution 50 members of Castorena's organization and associated groups. During the investigation, agents have seized counterfeit manufacturing laboratories and tens of thousands of blank counterfeit identity documents, said ICE, which is the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
ICE director Julie Myers said Castorena's arrest is a "landmark achievement that deals a serious blow to one of the largest fraudulent document organizations in the United States." Myers said the arrest by Mexican authorities and ICE agents stationed abroad "proves that international borders are not barriers for fugitives to hide behind." (See related article.)
Myers said her agency has more than 50 offices in 45 countries working with its international partners to target cross border and international crime.
The U.S. State Department said in a report released March 1 that Mexico extradited a record 41 fugitives to the United States in 2005 -- up from 34 in 2004. The department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report -- 2006 said the fugitives included Mexican citizens and defendants accused of narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and other serious crimes.
Additional information about the Castorena case is available on the ICE Web site.
For information on U.S. policy, see Mexico.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
