Raul Enrique Pargas Rodriguez, a Venezuelan national wanted for attempted femicide, has been arrested in Texas by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after fleeing to the United States illegally.
ICE reported that the 31-year-old is wanted in Venezuela for allegedly torturing and attempting to kill a woman in a deadly Russian roulette-style attack in February 2021. According to the warrant, Pargas Rodriguez lured the victim to his workshop, where he violently assaulted her. During the attack, he reportedly pressed a pistol to her head, removed the bullets, reloaded, and pointed the gun at her again before she escaped.
Pargas Rodriguez entered the U.S. illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas, on August 10, 2022. Though apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol, he was released on his own recognizance pending immigration proceedings. He was later arrested for assault in Dallas County Jail but was not detained due to prosecutorial discretion linked to immigration enforcement priorities.
Earlier this month, ICE received a tip from Border Patrol that Pargas Rodriguez was living illegally in North Texas and wanted in Venezuela for attempted aggravated femicide. Collaborating with the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Marshals, ICE located and arrested him in Plano, Texas, on August 14.
ICE stated the arrest will allow him to be repatriated to Venezuela to face charges for his alleged crimes.
