U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in partnership with federal law enforcement partners from the FBI, apprehended a Brazilian fugitive wanted by authorities in his native country to serve a sentence following his murder conviction.
Officers with ICE Boston and agents with FBI Boston arrested Fernando Antonio Vieira-Martins, 34, in Milford on May 1.
Brazilian authorities convicted Vieira-Martins on June 29, 2022, for murder and sentenced him to 24 years and nine months in prison. He fled Brazil after that conviction.
Vieira-Martins illegally entered the United States on March 9, 2023, near Calexico, California, without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.
On May 10, 2023, Brazilian authorities issued a criminal arrest warrant for Vieira-Martins for failure to serve a sentence for a murder conviction.
Since his May 1 arrest, ICE has held Vieira-Martins in custody, where he will remain pending removal proceedings.
“Fernando Antonio Vieira-Martins murdered someone in his home country and attempted to subvert justice by fleeing to the United States. He represents a significant hazard to the residents of Massachusetts,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde.
