Arrest of Fugitive Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio

This morning at approximately 9:30 a.m., FBI Agents and Police of Puerto Rico officers arrested, without incident, Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio, age 65, in the vicinity of Urbanization Jardines de Monaco in Manati, Puerto Rico.

On August 23, 1985, a federal arrest warrant was issued in Hartford, Connecticut, charging Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio with Obstruction of Commerce by Robbery and Conspiracy. It is alleged Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio participated in the armed robbery of approximately $7 million dollars from the Wells Fargo Depot in Hartford, Connecticut on September 12, 1983. If convicted on these charges, Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio faces up to approximately 275 years of imprisonment.

On March 21, 1986, another federal arrest warrant was issued in New Haven, Connecticut charging Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio with Bank Robbery, Aggravated Robbery, Theft from Interstate Shipment, Foreign and Interstate Transportation of Stolen Money, and Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery.

Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio had been a fugitive from justice for the past 22 years. It is believed Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio is a member of the clandestine Domestic Terrorist Organization known as “Ejercito Popular Boricua-Los Macheteros,” a group which has claimed responsibility for several murders, armed robberies and terrorist bombings.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of any guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial. The U.S. government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.