US Customs and Border Protection officers arrest murder suspect trying to flee to El Salvador

An American murder suspect trying to flee to El Salvador has been taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport, officials say. 

Christofer Antonio Argueta Ramirez, 19, of Woodbridge, Va., had "purchased a one-way ticket on an El Salvador-bound flight that was departing from Dulles airport around 1:30 a.m." before he was arrested Sunday, according to the agency. 

"Officers encountered Argueta Ramirez at the departure gate, verified Argueta Ramirez’s identity, took him into custody, and escorted him back to CBP’s inspection station," it added in a statement. "CBP officers turned Argueta Ramirez over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers." 

Argueta Ramirez is one of two suspects in the death of Jose Guerrero, a 20-year-old who vanished in Virginia in late 2022, Inside NoVa reported. 

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Christofer Antonio Argueta Ramirez was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on Sunday, Nov. 3, at Washington Dulles International Airport. (CBP)

Two days after Guerrero’s disappearance, his family found his abandoned car in Woodbridge with blood and signs of a struggle inside, the website cited police as saying at the time. 

Police say Guerrero and both suspects had arranged a drug deal on Dec. 21 of that year, but an altercation ensued, and Guerrero was "stabbed multiple times,’ according to Inside NoVa. 

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Christofer Antonio Argueta Ramirez was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport on Sunday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

His body was then allegedly dumped in Prince George’s County, where it was found in January 2023, the website also reported. 

Argueta Ramirez was taken into custody at a departure gate at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

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"Customs and Border Protection officers encounter all types of travelers arriving to and departing from the United States, including travelers wanted for allegedly committing seriously heinous offenses," Marc E. Calixte, the CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C, said in a statement following Ramirez’s arrest. "CBP continues to work with our law enforcement partners to help capture dangerous fugitives and to return them to face justice."