Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors have charged an alleged member of a Chicago-based gang of ordering a hit on a prominent border patrol leader, according to documents unsealed Monday.
The criminal complaint accuses Juan Espinoza Martinez of orchestrating a murder-for-hire scheme, alleging that he offered $10,000 in Snapchat messages to other members of the Latin Kings street gang to kill the unnamed official.
The Homeland Security Department later named that official as U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, a formerly obscure regional agent who has risen to prominence amid President Donald Trump's aggressive efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Those efforts include Operation Midway Blitz, a crackdown in Chicago that has drawn protests and pushback from local officials. The charges against Martinez were filed as the Trump administration remains locked in legal battles with Democratic governors who object to his deployment of federal troops to cities.
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