US authorities arrest Peruvian gang leader wanted for killing 23 people

United States immigration authorities arrested a Peruvian gang leader on Wednesday in New York, who is wanted for allegedly killing at least 23 people in his home country, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Thursday.

Gianfranco Torres-Navarro illegally entered the U.S. through the southern border in Texas in May, where he was arrested before being told to appear in court for immigration proceedings, according to ICE. He allegedly fled Peru after the death of a retired police officer and the shooting of a municipal employee.

Torres-Navarro is the alleged leader of the Peruvian gang  “Los Killers de Ventanilla y Callao," or "Los Killers" for short. 

“Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won’t allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens,” Thomas Brophy, the director of enforcement removal operations for ICE’s field office in Buffalo, New York said in a statement, per the Associated Press.

U.S. officials also arrested Torres-Navarro's girlfriend Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortíz Ubillús, who has been described as his right hand, and a prominent member of the "Los Killers" gang. She is being held at a processing center in Pennsylvania, while Torres-Navarro is being held in Buffalo.

Officials said they moved to arrest the couple after receiving word from Peru that Torres-Navarro was wanted in his home country on July 8. Six other members of the gang were arrested in Peru in a string of raids in June for extortion, homicide, and contract killing.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.