Feds extradite 2 foreign murder suspects found in AZ

Graig Graziosi, The Republic | azcentral.com
7:30 p.m. MST August 3, 2016


(Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)


Two murder suspects found to be in the United States illegally — one from Honduras and one from Mexico — were returned to their native countries Wednesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Francisco Inestroza-Martinez, 35, was a police officer in Honduras before entering the U.S. He is wanted there in connection with a homicide, according to an ICE statement.

Inestroza-Martinez was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Lukeville on July 13.

ICE said the other man, 55-year-old Jesus Balderama-Vega, was wanted by Mexican authorities in Sinaloa in connection with a fatal shooting in 2005.


Jesus Balderama-Vega was turned over to Mexican authorities by ICE in connection with a fatal shooting in 2005. (Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

The ICE statement said "local authorities" arrested Balderama-Vega on suspicion of DUI and other crimes, but it did not indicate when the arrest occurred. According to the statement, the U.S. Marshals Service alerted ICE to Balderama-Vega’s outstanding warrant.

During fiscal year 2015, ICE said, it deported 351 “high-profile” individuals nationwide.

According to ICE, 274 of the deported were wanted in other countries for crimes committed that were “often of a very serious or violent nature." Twenty deportees were classified as human-rights violators, and 54 were considered national security threats, the statement said.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...-ice/88049350/