Amid rising tensions in Illinois as Operation Midway Blitz — ICE’s deportation initiative in and around Chicago — carries on, law enforcement arrested suspected Latin Kings “ranking member” Juan Espinoza Martinez on Monday and charged him with a single count of murder for hire after he allegedly put a hit out on a Border Patrol chief, according to Fox News.
According to the complaint obtained by Fox News, Martinez, 37, allegedly sent Snapchat messages that read, “2k on information when you get him,” and, “10k if you take him down.”
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Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
“Putting a price on the life of a law enforcement officer is an attack on the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said in a statement to Fox News. “The defendant’s actions in this case demonstrate a profound contempt for human life and public safety. Under my leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago will hold defendants accountable for their grave criminal actions and ensure that no federal officer has to fear for their life for doing their job.”
The Department of Homeland Security identified the targeted official as the commander at large of the U.S. Border Patrol, Chief Gregory Bovino. Bovino was instrumental in the eye-catching operation in Chicago’s South Shore at the beginning of the month, during which agents rappelled down from Black Hawk helicopters to secure an apartment complex.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously warned on Sunday about these plots, saying, “These people are organized. They’re getting more and more people on their team as far as attacking officers, and they’re making plans to ambush them and to kill them. We have specific officers and agents that have bounties that have been put out on their heads. It’s been $2,000 to kidnap them, $10,000 to kill them. They’ve released their pictures.”
“This is the rule of law vs. anarchy. We will win,” she added in the same social media post.
Martinez’s initial court appearance date has not yet been set.
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