


A Salvadoran national and 18th Street gang member wanted in El Salvador on three homicide charges was deported back there Friday by U.S. authorities.
Officials do not know when the deported man, 24-year-old Noe Alvarez, first crossed into America. U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him near Eagle Pass, Texas in Sept. 2019, and he was deported back to El Salvador by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in December of that year.
That did not deter Mr. Alvarez, who was caught after re-entering the U.S. on May 7, 2020. He was immediately expelled to Mexico pursuant to the Title 42 policy. From there, U.S. officials do not know when nor where he crossed the border for the third time.
On Dec. 12, Mr. Alvarez was apprehended by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston fugitive officers as a foreign fugitive. Mr. Alvarez was then detained until his deportation back to El Salvador Friday.
“Our fugitive operations officers are uniquely trained to track down these fugitives so that they can be repatriated to their country of origin to face justice for their alleged crimes,” said ERO Houston Acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez in an agency announcement.
Mr. Alvarez, a member of El Salvador’s 18th Street gang, returns to a country in the midst of an anti-gang crackdown.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele enacted a state of emergency to tackle gang violence in March 2022, and the civil rights of gang members have been restricted as part of enforcement actions.
The state of emergency was extended for another month with a 67 to six vote in El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly Tuesday night. The nation’s Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said that 64,000 had been arrested during the state of emergency, with 57,000 awaiting formal charges or trial.
“The historic results achieved in security confirm for us that we’re on the right path, transforming the country,” Mr. Villatoro told the assembled lawmakers, according to the Associated Press.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.