Mexico seeks the extradition of a U.S. soldier accused of femicide in Chihuahua

EFE

The U.S. soldier Saúl Luna Villa, also known as "El Pantera", is accused of the murder in 2023 of Aylin Becerril, his romantic partner. He is currently detained.

According to a document from the Fort Bliss Court in Texas, the Mexican government has reported that it seeks the extradition of Luna Villa for the arrest warrant issued against him in Chihuahua for the crime of aggravated femicide.

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Authorities reported that on April 7 of last year, the body of a woman was found at the intersection of Paseo del Norte and Agustín Barbachano streets, located in the Anáhuac neighborhood in Ciudad Juárez. The victim was identified by her mother.

Hours before the discovery, the woman had contacted her mother to tell her that Saúl Luna had asked her to cross the border through El Paso, Texas, to meet him, so she asked her to take care of her children. Despite the insistence, the mother gave her daughter permission to visit him, and her sister asked for a vehicle through an app.

Later, the mother received a photo of her daughter, sent from her phone, showing her alive, and one of the soldier's tattoos was partially visible. Five minutes later, Saúl Luna called her to ask if the woman had returned home.

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Then, the victim's family tried unsuccessfully to contact her on her cellphone.

Thanks to the testimony of a person and with the security cameras in the place where the body was found, they identified that on the day of the events, a man in a black vehicle left a package and then left.

U.S. authorities reported that they have records of the soldier's border crossing, traveling in a black vehicle, and this information matches what was captured by security cameras in Ciudad Juárez.

Aylin Becerril died from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.