Houston Fugitive Placed on FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List

Villegas-Palomino continues to present a grave threat to the community through his cocaine and narco-terrorist empire. Multi-ton quantities of cocaine allegedly produced in his laboratories ultimately end up on U.S. streets, plaguing local communities and driving spikes in violent crime.

"Our commitment to keeping the community safe includes bringing to justice those who fuel and orchestrate the violence in our communities from outside our national borders," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "Palomino's placement on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list reinforces our nation's partnership with Colombia to combat both terrorism and the spread of dangerous narcotics into the U.S. and around the world."

"Villegas-Palomino is allegedly responsible for numerous kidnappings, ordering assassinations, money laundering, and weapons trafficking," said James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office. "Under his leadership of the ELN Northeastern War Front, his laboratories allegedly contribute to the production of at least 80 percent of the cocaine entering the United States. That cocaine ends up on our streets and plays a major role in the violent crime increases we see in our neighborhoods."

"ELN is a terrorist organization that finances its deadly operations by trafficking dangerous drugs into Houston," said Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. "Their drugs destroy lives and communities, and every dollar spent on ELN's drugs is another dollar that's spent to threaten our national security. The law enforcement efforts against ELN leader Villegas-Palomino reaffirms our commitment to dismantling and disrupting this very dangerous narco-terrorist group and combatting narco-trafficking."

This remains an ongoing investigation.

The FBI asks anyone with information concerning Villegas-Palomino to please contact the FBI via WhatsApp (neither a government-operated nor a government-controlled platform) at (281) 630-0330. Individuals may also contact their local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Additional information concerning Villegas-Palomino, including his wanted poster in English and Spanish, as well as the FBI's official list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, can be found at fbi.gov/wanted.

The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was established in March 1950. Since then, 530 fugitives have been placed on the list and 494 fugitives have been apprehended or located-163 of them as a result of citizen cooperation.

Since its inception, Palomino is the seventh fugitive from the FBI Houston Field Office to be placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The most recent was serial killer Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, who was placed on the list in June 1999. He was removed in July 1999 after he was arrested in Texas thanks to extensive national coverage by news media, which helped track down Resendez-Ramirez, also known as the "Railroad Killer."

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