A Peruvian gang leader accused of nearly two dozen murders in his home country has been arrested in New York by federal immigration officers.
Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, who is wanted in Peru in connection with the 23 killings, including rival gang leaders and a retired police officer, was arrested on Aug. 14 in Endicott, New York, about 145 miles northwest of New York City, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. He is being held at a federal detention facility near Buffalo pending an immigration hearing.
The 38-year-old leader of the “Los Killers” gang illegally crossed the Texas-Mexico border on May 16, according to ICE. He was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol the same day near Roma, Texas, before being released into the United States with a notice to appear for his immigration proceedings.
On July 8, immigration enforcement learned that Torres-Navarro was wanted in Peru and took steps to arrest him. Immigration agents also arrested his girlfriend, Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortíz Ubillús, described by Peruvian authorities as the gang leader’s right hand.
Ortíz Ubillús, who has a sizable social media following on TikTok where she showed off her lavish lifestyle, is being held at a processing center in Pennsylvania.
Peruvian media reported that Torres-Navarro fled the country after allegedly killing a retired police officer, as well as a municipal employee, at a restaurant in San Miguel in March. Peruvian authorities issued an international warrant for him in July.
Franco Moreno, head of Peru’s High Complexity Crime Investigations Division, told the Associated Press that they tracked phone calls, geolocations, and messages from Torres-Navarro and his gang of at least 10 members.
“He is a highly dangerous criminal who believed he was untouchable and responsible for 23 murders, including other gang leaders who ended up dead along with their families, all in order to increase his criminal leadership,” Moreno told the outlet.
“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,” ICE Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas Brophy said in a statement. “Well done by our ICE Buffalo officers who brought this individual into custody.”
ICE targets and arrests illegal immigrants suspected of crimes either within or outside of the United States and processes them for removal.
In the 2023 fiscal year, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division arrested nearly 74,000 people who were in the country illegally with criminal histories, including 4,390 people with sex and sexual assault charges or convictions, according to the agency.
