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FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke about a fugitive hunt Friday during a news conference with Houston media. “Today, I’m announcing a fugitive the Houston office has recommended to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list,” Wray said. That man wanted by the FBI is 41-year-old Wilver Villegas-Palomino, also known as El Puerco or “The Pig.”
“Palomino works for the narco-terrorist group ELN in Colombia,” Wray said. There is a $5,000,000 reward for his arrest and/or conviction.
Wilver Villegas-Palomino is a ranking member of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and is wanted for drug-trafficking activities for the ELN Northeastern War Front in the Catatumbo region of Colombia and in Venezuela.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Villegas-Palomino in the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, on February 13, 2020, after he was charged with narco-terrorism, international cocaine distribution conspiracy, and international cocaine distribution.
The feds said ELN as a whole controls more than 80% of the cocaine originating in Catatumbo, Colombia that flows into the United States. Around 250 tons per year. “He’s also involved in kidnapping, money laundering, weapons trafficking and even ordering assassinations,” Wray said.
“What ELN does, which is trafficking narcotics and violence, bleeds into Houston,” said FBI Houston special agent in charge James Smith. Smith said possible leads on Palomino’s current whereabouts could come from near or far.
“Whether it be here in the Houston area or the U.S. or down in Colombia, they see him every day,” said Smith. The FBI said getting Palomino into custody would have an impact on a major international criminal enterprise.
The United States Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Wilver Villegas-Palomino.
It should be noted that none of the major cartel kingpins in Mexico are on the list as they are largely investigated by the DEA and Department of Treasury. The FBI however goes after narco-terrorism and organized crime as well as fugitives.
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Yulan Adonay Archaga Carias, the alleged leader of MS-13 for all of Honduras has a $5,000,000 reward for his capture.
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Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez “El Gato” of the Beltran-Leyva Organization for ordering the killing of a man in South Lake, Texas in 2013. He was arrested earlier this year in Mexico, and remains on the list as ‘Captured’.