Mexican and U.S. authorities announced on Saturday the arrest in Pachuca, Hidalgo, of Alejandro Rosales Castillo, an “FBI ten most wanted fugitive” accused of murdering a woman in North Carolina in 2016.
The U.S. citizen entered Mexico shortly after he allegedly murdered his co-worker and former girlfriend in August 2016.
Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced Rosales’ arrest on social media, writing that agents with the federal Security Ministry and the Federal Attorney General’s Office carried out an operation in the Hidalgo capital that resulted in the capture of the suspect.
He noted that Mexican authorities had exchanged information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to the arrest. García Harfuch also noted that Rosales — who was added to the FBI’s “ten most wanted fugitives” list in 2017 — was subject to an Interpol Red Notice and that a warrant for his arrest “for extradition purposes” had been issued.
“The detainee is identified as one of the 10 most wanted fugitives of the FBI, which offered a reward of US $250,000 for information leading to his capture,” he wrote.
“He is wanted by the authorities in North Carolina, in the United States, for first-degree murder, armed robbery, vehicle theft and first-degree kidnapping,” García Harfuch wrote.
Derivado de trabajos de inteligencia y del intercambio de información con el @FBI, elementos de @SSPCMexico y @FGRMexico realizaron un despliegue coordinado en Pachuca, Hidalgo, donde fue detenido Alejandro “N”, quien cuenta con ficha roja y orden de arresto con fines de… pic.twitter.com/gZ8ybE85Pm
— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) January 17, 2026
Rosales, 27, is accused of murdering 23-year-old Truc Quan “Sandy” Ly Le, the FBI said in a statement issued after the suspect’s arrest. Born in the state of Arizona, the suspect was just 17 years old when he allegedly murdered Ly Le. Rosales and Ly Le worked together at a restaurant in Charlotte and dated for a period, according to police in Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina.
In its statement, the FBI noted that Ly Le’s body was found on Aug. 17, 2016, in a wooded area in Cabarrus County, which adjoins Mecklenburg, the county where Charlotte is located. She had a gunshot wound to the head.
The FBI said in 2017 that “a joint investigation by the FBI and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) revealed that [Rosales] Castillo owed the victim money — approximately $1,000.”
“Text messages between [Rosales] Castillo and the victim showed they agreed to meet in Charlotte on Aug. 9, 2016, so he could repay the loan,” the FBI said.
“When the victim arrived at the meeting place that evening, [Rosales] Castillo apparently had no intention of returning the money. Instead, according to CMPD Det. Brent Koeck, Castillo had the victim withdraw a large sum of money from an ATM. Investigators believe [Rosales] Castillo drove the woman to a remote, heavily wooded area outside Charlotte, where she was shot in the head and her body dumped in a ravine. Castillo and his new girlfriend then fled the state in the victim’s car.”
The day he allegedly murdered Ly Le, Rosales “was seen on surveillance video crossing the border from Nogales, Arizona, into Mexico,” the FBI said.
His girlfriend, Ahmia Feaster, entered Mexico with him, but two months after the homicide, she turned herself in to Mexican authorities and returned to North Carolina to face charges, according to the FBI.
Rosales, a fluent Spanish speaker, was initially believed to be living in the state of Aguascalientes, but was residing in Pachuca before his arrest, according to Mexico’s Security Ministry.
The FBI said Saturday that “for nearly ten years, special agents and CMPD task force officers in Charlotte have worked countless hours to develop leads to locate [Rosales] Castillo, ultimately uncovering where he has been hiding the past several years.”
The U.S. agency noted that Rosales was captured in Pachuca last Friday, and said that its Law Enforcement Attaché Office in Mexico City coordinated with a Criminal Investigation Agency-Interpol “vetted team” and Mexico’s Security Ministry on the arrest.
“[Rosales] Castillo is detained in Mexico City pending extradition proceedings to North Carolina,” the FBI said.
FBI director thanks Mexican government, US ambassador highlights bilateral cooperation
FBI Director Kash Patel acknowledged Rosales’ arrest in a social media post, highlighting that “another FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” had been captured.
BREAKING: Another FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive has been captured.
Alejandro Rosales Castillo – a Ten Most Wanted Fugitive since 2017 – was arrested in Mexico on Friday. He has been wanted on charges for the 2016 murder of his former coworker, 23 year old “Sandy” Ly Le in… pic.twitter.com/rfqn4HGRad
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 17, 2026
“Incredible work @FBICharlotte, and thank you to so many partners who delivered — the government of Mexico, Legat [legal attaché office] Mexico, State Dept, HSI, US Secret Service, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, and more,” he wrote.
“This is the FIFTH Ten Most Wanted Fugitive captured under this FBI in one year, since the beginning of 2025 — more captures in one year than the entire previous four years combined,” Patel added.
The United States’ Ambassador to Mexico, Ron Johnson, subsequently shared Patel’s post on X and wrote above it:
“Cooperation, collaboration, and coordination delivers real results. This case reflects the impact of those combined efforts. Under the leadership of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and President @ClaudiaShein, we remain committed to joint action that strengthens security and ensures justice.”
In a series of recent social media posts, Johnson has acknowledged Mexico’s security efforts, including the arrest of alleged members of criminal groups that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
Mexico is under pressure from the U.S. government to do more to combat cartels and the drugs they traffic to the United States. Donald Trump said on Jan. 8 that the United States was going to start targeting cartels on land in Mexico, but that threat was apparently defused — at least for now — in a call between President Sheinbaum and the U.S. president last Monday.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
