Peruvian gang leader wanted for 23 murders arrested in New York after being released into US by Biden-Harris admin

Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, 38, the leader of the "Los Killers" gang, was apprehended by Immigration Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and is being held in a facility near Buffalo. He illegally entered the US on May 16, was arrested by the Border Patrol, given a notice to appear in immigration court, and released into the US.

Peruvian officials described Torres-Navarro as "highly dangerous" who "believed he was untouchable."

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 employed violence to eliminate rivals who were infiltrating the territory of "Los Killers de Ventanilla y Callao," specifically 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, including phone calls, geolocations, and messages, in order to trace him.

Director Thomas Brophy of ICE ERO Buffalo said 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 to be his accomplice, was also taken into custody. She is being held at an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania.