670 U.S. Fugitives Captured in Baja California over Five Years

In this June 13, 2013 file photo, US Border Patrol agent Jerry Conlin looks out over Tijua
AP File Photo/Gregory Bull

A Total of 667 U.S.-based fugitives were captured in the Mexican state of Baja California over the last five years thanks to a collaborative effort led by the Policía Estatal Preventiva (PEP-State Preventive Police) and American law enforcement agencies.

Governor Francisco Arturo Vega of Lamadrid made this announcement after a recent meeting attended by collaborating agencies like the National Institute of Migration—which controls and supervises migration in the country.

The 667 were captured between November 2013 and August 10, 2018, according to local media.

The fugitives captured were wanted by the U.S. Marshals, FBI, DEA, San Diego Police, LAPD, United States Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and others.

The PEP (State Police) obtained information from its U.S. counterparts and coordinated with other local agencies to track down international fugitives hiding out in Mexico. Based on the joint efforts, the offenses range from murder, drug trafficking, major theft, and sex crimes to include those against children.

The bi-national coordination also allowed for joint training and an exchange of information related to the theft of vehicles committed in the U.S. and smuggled into Mexico.

U.S. border states traditionally experience a higher frequency of dangerous criminal offenders fleeing into Mexico. These fugitives are either U.S. citizens or foreign nationals living illegally in the United States. Some larger police agencies in the United States are forced to create foreign prosecution units or border liaisons as a result.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com

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