ERO removes noncitizen wanted for homicide to El Salvador

PHILADELPHIA - Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia removed Gustavo Adolfo Rivas Munoz, a citizen of El Salvador with a final order of removal, to El Salvador Oct. 4. Rivas is a foreign fugitive wanted by law enforcement authorities in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and association with a terrorist organization.

"Thanks to the excellent work of our deportation officers, Gustavo Adolfo Rivas Munoz has been returned to El Salvador to face justice in his home country," said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley. "These dedicated officers work tirelessly to protect the American people and further our national security mission."

On Feb. 7, 2013, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Rivas near Hidalgo, Texas, after he unlawfully entered the United States without inspection or parole by an immigration official.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services served Rivas with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge on March 9, 2013. Later that month ERO San Antonio released Rivas on an order of recognizance.

An immigration judge in Harlingen, Texas ordered Rivas removed from the United States to El Salvador in absentia on Feb. 1, 2017.

The Circuit Court for Prince George's County in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, convicted Rivas Oct. 4, 2023, of conspiracy to commit assault and sentenced him to 25 years in prison to be followed by five years of probation. The court then suspended 20 years of the prison sentence and credited Rivas with time served.

On Aug. 6, 2024, ERO Baltimore encountered Rivas at the Jessup Correctional Institution in Jessup, Maryland, and lodged an immigration detainer with the facility.

On ERO Baltimore arrested Rivas Aug. 22 at the Jessup Correctional Institution and transferred him to ERO Philadelphia at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, to await immigration proceedings.

On Oct. 4, ERO Philadelphia removed Rivas from the United States to El Salvador and turned him over to Salvadoran authorities, who sought custody of Rivas for aggravated homicide and terrorist organization charges.