COLORADO SPRINGS — On Thursday afternoon, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Denver Division worked alongside Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Denver, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, the Pueblo Police Department, and the Colorado Springs Police Department, to arrest a suspected cartel member.
FBI agents had a federal warrant for Omar Valdez-Lerma, on charges of re-entry after deportation.
According to the FBI, Valdez-Lerma has previously been charged with illegal re-entry after being deported in 2018 and 2021.
Officials believe that Valdez-Lerma is a member of a cartel that has been labeled as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), but did not specify which group.
Valdez-Lerma is currently being held in an ICE detention facility in Denver.
Colorado Springs students react to Trump's involuntary collection of defaulted student loans
The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it will begin collections on defaulted loans starting May 5. We spoke to local students about their feelings on the call.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
