ICE arrests international fugitive residing in Miami, wanted for murder

MIAMI - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents on Wednesday arrested Pedro Antonio Martinez Escobar a.k.a. Pedro A. Martinez, 37, who is wanted in Honduras for murder.

ICE special agents assisted by the FBI administratively arrested Martinez Escobar without incident at his Miami residence for being in violation of U.S. immigration law. Martinez is currently in ICE custody while he awaits the filing of criminal charges for being in violation of Title 8, United States Code (USC), Section 1326, illegally re-entering the United States after deportation.

"Criminals who think that they can use the United States as a safe haven are sorely mistaken," said Anthony V. Mangione, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Miami. "ICE is committed to ensuring the integrity of our nation's immigration system. As such, it is one of our top priorities to locate foreign fugitives hiding in the United States and turn them over to our foreign law enforcement partners to face justice in their native countries."

On Aug. 13, ICE was advised by the FBI that Martinez Escobar had an Interpol Red notice from Honduras for murder. ICE special agents conducted an investigation and discovered that Martinez Escobar had illegally re-entered the United States after deportation four previous times.

Martinez Escobar was born in Olancho, Honduras, and entered the United States without inspection in 1994 in San Antonio, Texas, and was subsequently apprehended and removed from the United States.

Thereafter, Martinez Escobar was apprehended by ICE on Dec. 14, 1997 for being illegally present in the United States and was subsequently removed for a second time on March 4, 1999 from Laredo, Texas.

Martinez Escobar was apprehended again on Aug. 17, 2003 for being illegally present in the United States and was subsequently deported on Oct. 7, 2003. On May 1, 2008, he was arrested for illegally re-entering the country after deportation and was removed from the United States from Miami a fourth time on May 9, 2008.