LawFuel – Legal Newswire – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigations (ICE), announce the arrest of Raul Sanabria Castaneda, a/k/a Ramon Diaz, a 41-year-old Colombian national wanted by the Colombian government for a 1994 double homicide, on charges of making false statements to a federal agent. He made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White, and was detained. Arraignment is scheduled for February 9, 2009.
Castaneda, formerly residing in Pembroke Pines, FL, was arrested without incident by ICE agents on Friday, January 23, 2009, following his appearance under the alias Ramon Diaz on unrelated local charges at the Miami Dade courthouse. Castaneda first came to the attention of ICE following his December 26, 2008 arrest by officers of the Miami Dade Police Department (MDPD) on the local charges. The MDPD’s Homeland Security Bureau contacted ICE to determine the defendant’s immigration and Interpol status. Thereafter, ICE agents confirmed that the defendant was in the U.S. illegally and a fingerprint analysis of the defendant revealed an Interpol Red Notice for an international fugitive, Raul Sanabria Castaneda.
According to the criminal complaint, when interviewed by ICE agents, Castaneda claimed to be Ramon Diaz, a citizen of Venezuela. During the interview, Castaneda falsely stated that he had legally entered the U.S. approximately 10 years ago through John F. Kennedy International Airport. Further investigation revealed, that Castaneda had in fact entered the U.S. illegally. He was charged with making false statements to a federal officer.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of ICE Office of Investigations, who worked in close coordination with Interpol, the ICE Attaché in Colombia, and the Miami-Dade Police Department, to identify, locate, and apprehend this individual. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lorraine Tashman.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.
