Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Los Angeles removed a former Guatemalan police officer accused of participating in the widely publicized, forced disappearance of a student leader and union activist in 1984. Officials removed Hugo Gómez Osorio, 63, to his home country of Guatemala on a flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit March 8. Upon arrival, they turned him over to the proper authorities.
“Criminals seeking to evade horrific crimes committed in their home country will not find safe harbor here in the United States,” said ERO Los Angeles Field Office Director Thomas Giles. “Thanks to the collaborative professionalism between HSI, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and the dedicated men and women of ERO Los Angeles, Gómez Osorio has been returned to his home country of Guatemala to face justice for violating human rights.”
Gómez Osorio entered the United States without admission or parole by an immigration officer on an unknown date. On Dec. 9, 2010, the government of Guatemala requested Gómez Osorio’s arrest for the offenses of illegal detention, abduction or kidnapping, abuse of authority, forced disappearance and failure to comply with human rights.
In August 2019, ERO Los Angeles located and arrested Gómez Osorio during a targeted enforcement operation. Officials served him with a Notice to Appear for procuring admission into the United States by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles’ National Security Group and ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) investigated this case. The HSI attaché in Guatemala City, Guatemala, assisted in the investigation. ICE’s Los Angeles Office of the Principal Legal Advisor litigated the case.
An immigration judge ordered Gómez Osorio removed from the United States on Feb. 3, 2021. After exhausting due process, ERO Los Angeles removed him.
