HSI Arrests Previously Deported, Violent Felon Fugitive Wanted for Homicide in Mexico

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Bonifacio Renteria-Cruz, 48, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested on Illegal Re-Entry charges on Tuesday during a Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) operation led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Madison Sheahan. Renteria-Cruz was charged by Criminal Complaint for violation of Title 8, U.S.C. 1326(a) and (b)(1).

On October 11, 2006, Renteria-Cruz, a Mexican citizen illegally present in the United States, was convicted of Aggravated Assault, a class 3 felony, in the Maricopa County Superior Court and sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison. Renteria-Cruz was deported to Mexico on April 8, 2008.

After his deportation, Mexican authorities charged Renteria-Cruz with homicide for events that occurred on July 20, 2009, in Mexico. Since that time, he has been a fugitive.

Pursuant to a tip in January 2025, HSI learned that Renteria-Cruz had illegally returned to the United States. Agents were able to locate and identify Renteria-Cruz, and on April 8, 2025, Renteria-Cruz was arrested during an Immigration Operation.

This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Homeland Security Investigations in Phoenix, Arizona conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Addison Owen, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           25-3128MJ
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-052_Renteria-Cruz

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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