Border Patrol agents arrest five-time deportee gang member with decades-long criminal history

Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported gang member with a history of criminal convictions, according to an internal agency memo obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation and a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

On Feb. 11, agents arrested Heriberto Gonzalez-Macias of Mexico near Fort Hancock, Texas, and learned of his “extensive” criminal history and gang affiliation, according to the memo. Gonzalez-Macias’ criminal history, according to a criminal complaint filed on Feb. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, included a 1991 manslaughter with a 15-year prison sentence, a 2006 illegal importation of firearms with an 87-month prison sentence and a 2013 conjoint robbery with a 20-year prison sentence, all of which were committed in Oklahoma. “The DEFENDANT has been deported 5 time(s), the last one being to Mexico on May 15, 2018, through SAN YSIDRO, CA,” said the court filing.

The Border Patrol memo stated that Gonzalez-Macias had a 1995 manslaughter conviction and a 2013 first degree murder charge, which was not included in the criminal complaint.

“Criminal Records for GONZALEZ-MACIAS, Heriberto revealed extensive criminal and immigration history with several felony convictions. GONZALEZ-MACIAS is also a self-admitted Paisa gang member,” the Border Patrol memo read.

“GONZALEZ-MACIAS, Heriberto was determined to be a POSITIVE MATCH to Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) record (redacted),” the memo read, adding he “was identified as an MS-13 member.”

Also on Feb. 11, agents in Lordsburg, New Mexico, arrested Ruben Moreno, an admitted member of the Norteño prison gang and a previously deported Mexican national, according to a separate Border Patrol memo recently obtained by the DCNF.

Between October and January, Border Patrol agents nabbed 157 gang members, including 34 members of the Paisa prison gang and 24 MS-13 members, according to federal data. One of the mottos of MS-13 is “kill, rape, control,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Additionally, Border agents arrested 598 gang members in fiscal year 2023 and 751 in fiscal year 2022, according to the data.

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Texas didn’t immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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