In May, the Biden-Harris administration’s Border Patrol released a notorious Peruvian gang leader into the U.S., despite him being wanted in his home country for at least 23 murders. On Wednesday, federal authorities in New York arrested the gang leader after he had illegally entered the country through the southern border.

Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, 38, leader of the “Los Killers” gang, was apprehended by Immigration Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and is now detained in a facility near Buffalo. After illegally entering the U.S. on May 16, Torres-Navarro was initially arrested by the Border Patrol, given a notice to appear in immigration court, and subsequently released into the country.

Peruvian officials described Torres-Navarro as “highly dangerous” and someone who “believed he was untouchable.”

“Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won’t allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens. Well done by our ERO Buffalo officers who brought this individual into custody.”
– ERO Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas Brophy pic.twitter.com/z3BGyawmKJ

— ERO Buffalo (@EROBuffalo) August 16, 2024

Col. Franco Moreno, head of Peru’s High Complexity Crime Investigations Division, told the Associated Press that Torres-Navarro was “responsible for 23 murders, including other gang leaders who ended up dead along with their families, all in order to increase his criminal leadership.”

The gang leader is known for using violence to eliminate rivals encroaching on the territory of “Los Killers de Ventanilla y Callao,” particularly through the extortion of construction companies. Torres-Navarro allegedly murdered retired police officer Cesar Quegua Herrera and a municipal employee at a restaurant in San Miguel in March.

At the beginning of July, Peruvian authorities issued an international capture order for Torres-Navarro. Peru’s High Complexity Crime Investigations Division reportedly tracked Torres-Navarro and at least 10 affiliated gang members through phone calls, geolocations, and messages.

Director Thomas Brophy of ICE ERO Buffalo stated in a press release: “Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won’t allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens.” The gang leader’s girlfriend, Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortiz Ubillius, who is considered his accomplice, was also taken into custody and is being held at an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania.