U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Thursday that the agency has successfully apprehended and deported a Salvadoran fugitive who was “hiding out” in Virginia to avoid facing terrorism and homicide charges in his home country.

ICE said that deportation officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C. removed 38-year-old William Alexander Albanez-Herrera on Oct. 4, and turned him over to Salvadoran authorities.

According to ICE, Albanez-Herrera is a documented member of the international criminal gang MS-13, who was wanted by authorities in El Salvador for terrorist organization, aggravated homicide and aggravated femicide.

“William Alexander Albanez-Herrera blatantly ignored U.S. immigration laws and attempted to flee justice by hiding out in Virginia,” said ERO Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Liana Castano.

“We refuse to allow our Washington, D.C. and Virginia neighborhoods to become safe havens for the world’s criminals,” Castano said. “Albanez-Herrera been returned to El Salvador to face some serious charges there.

“ERO Washington D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our communities,” Castano added.

Albanez-Herrera was previously deported from the U.S. after illegally crossing the southwestern U.S.-Mexico border into Texas in 2014.

He later unlawfully reentered the country at an unknown date and location — what is commonly referred to as a “gotaway” — and had been living in Virginia prior to arrest by ICE in July of this year.

ICE said that Salvadoran authorities issued a warrant for Albanez-Herrera’s arrest in May 2018, and that Interpol issued a public Red Notice for his arrest that August — a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest a suspect pending extradition or other legal action.

Officers with ICE-ERO Washington, D.C. arrested Albanez Herrera on July 19, 2024 in Woodbridge, Va., and served him a notice of intent to reinstate a prior removal order.

He was deported back to El Salvador and turned over to Salvadoran authorities on Oct. 4.