Illegal Immigrant Arrested In El Paso After Killing And Dismembering Several People

El Paso Agents from the FBI El Paso’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the U.S. Border Patrol have located and arrested Michelle Angelica Pineda, aka “La Chely,” at a local motel. Pineda, a Mexican national, was wanted by the Government of Mexico for her involvement in five homicides and suspected in multiple other homicides in Cuidad de Juarez. On February 15, members of the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force, El Paso Police Department’s Gang Unit, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division, and U.S. Border Patrol learned through an active investigation that Pineda had entered the U.S. illegally and was operating a drug trafficking ring on behalf of the “Artistas Assessino” gang located in Mexico. Pineda was known for her extreme brutality such as dismembering bodies, removing hearts, and placing the hearts in front of “Santa Muerte” altars and statues.

In the early morning hours, FBI El Paso agents, U.S. Border Patrol BORTAC operators, El Paso Police Department Gang officers, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, discovered several firearms, machetes, fentanyl pills, powdered fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, Xanax, and methamphetamine in the hotel room she was located in. Pineda was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. FBI and U.S. Border Patrol agents then escorted her to the port of entry to be transferred into the custody of the Chihuahua State Police and the State Attorney General of Chihuahua (FISCALÍA).