An alleged gang member charged last week in Chicago with putting a hit out on a senior U.S. Border Patrol official was indicted by a federal grand jury this week.
Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, allegedly posted messages on Snapchat along with a photo of Border Patrol Commander at Large Chief Gregory Bovino saying “2k on information when you get him” and “10k if u take him down.” Bovino has played a key role in the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago.
According to Fox News, the indictment says that Martinez “knowingly used a facility of interstate commerce, namely, an Apple Model 16 cellular telephone… and Snapchat, with intent that a murder be committed.”
The initial criminal complaint against Martinez, as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alleged that Martinez is a “ranking member” of the street gang Latin Kings. DHS also said he’s in the U.S. illegally.
One of the Snapchat messages included “LK….on him,” which DHS said “ indicates the involvement of the Latin Kings.”
The indictment, however, doesn’t include accusations that Martinez is a gang member, the Chicago Tribune reported. His lawyers also deny he has gang affiliations.
DHS said this week that intelligence shows Mexican drug cartels are behind bounties ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 on ICE or CBP agents depending on their rank.
“These criminal networks have issued explicit instructions to U.S.-based sympathetics, including street gangs in Chicago, to monitor, harass, and assassinate federal agents,” the department said.
“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law, they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “Our agents are facing ambushes, drone surveillance, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress. We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice.”
This week, Meta, the owner of Facebook, removed a page used by activists to track and dox ICE operations and agents.
