DALLAS, TX – A Venezuelan fugitive accused of attempting to kill a woman in a violent Russian roulette-style assault was captured in Plano last week after evading authorities for more than two years and living illegally in North Texas.
Raul Enrique Pargas Rodriquez, 31, was arrested by ICE agents on Wednesday after a tip from U.S. Border Patrol led investigators to his location. The fugitive, who fled Venezuela following an attempted aggravated femicide in 2021, is accused of luring a woman to his workshop before launching into a brutal outburst and allegedly putting a gun to her head in a staged execution-style scenario.
According to the arrest warrant, the incident occurred on February 24, 2021, when Pargas allegedly summoned the woman to a workshop and became physically violent, beating and berating her before grabbing a pistol. He reportedly emptied and reloaded the firearm while repeatedly pointing it at the victim’s head. The woman ultimately escaped the scene and survived.
After the assault, Pargas fled Venezuela and illegally crossed into the U.S. near Eagle Pass, Texas, on August 10, 2022. He was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol that same day but released on his own recognizance to await immigration proceedings.
More than a year later, on November 28, ICE encountered Pargas again following an unrelated assault arrest in Dallas County. At the time, officials chose not to detain him due to existing enforcement priorities.
It wasn’t until this month that ICE received a formal investigative referral from Border Patrol identifying Pargas as a wanted foreign fugitive. Agents with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, along with the U.S. Marshals and Texas Department of Public Safety, located and arrested him in Plano.
Pargas is currently in ICE custody and faces removal proceedings while Venezuela seeks his repatriation for prosecution.
