San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Fugitive ‘Satans’ drug lord captured near S.A.
A Colombian drug lord who continued issuing orders to his gang even as he fled to the United States was arrested in New Braunfels.
Aderbis Segundo PirelaPirela, 29, of Venezuela, was identified as the second-in-command of the crime syndicate the “Satanás,” or Satans in English, wanted out of Bogotá, Colombia, on charges related to extortion, drug trafficking and homicide, Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said in a news conference last week.
Pirela, known as “Pedrito” or “Maracucho,” was one of two notable arrests made as Bogotá Metropolitan Police sought those responsible for threats and killings carried out over the past year in the city. Pirela was one of the most wanted among cartel members in the capital.
Gen. Jose Daniel Gualdron, commander of the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, said Pirela had been monitored for months as he crossed the Darién Gap at the Colombia and Panama border, hidden among thousands of migrants. Once in Mexico, he began seeking political asylum in the United States.
U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement, or ICE, said in a statement that Pirela first entered the United States lawfully on Jan. 2, near Eagle Pass. U.S. Border Patrol arrested him near El Paso that same day and issued a notice to appear.
On Jan. 5, Border Patrol issued Pirela an order of recognizance and released him from their custody. Gualdron said both U.S. and Colombian authorities were working together to track Pirela.
On Feb. 27, authorities learned that he still had control over criminal actions in Colombia.
Homeland Security Investigations arrested Pirela last week and transferred him to ICE custody at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in San Antonio, pending the outcome of his immigration case.