Chicago man indicted for allegedly soliciting killing of Border Patrol boss Gregory Bovino, but without contention of gang involvement

Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune on Oct 15, 2025

Published in News & Features

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CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been indicted on charges he solicited the murder of U.S. Border Patrol field boss Gregory Bovino, but the bare-bones document makes no mention of previous allegations that he is a high-ranking gang member.

Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, of Chicago, was arrested last week and charged with one count of solicitation of murder-for-hire, which carries up to 10 years in prison.

The one-page indictment handed up by a federal grand jury on Tuesday charges him with the same count. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez had set a preliminary hearing for Wednesday, but that was canceled due to the filing of the indictment.

The initial criminal complaint filed earlier this month alleged Martinez was a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang and was marshaling gang resources to go after Bovino, who was not specifically identified as the target.

While the indictment does not mention any gang affiliation, prosecutors could still revive those allegations later in superseding charges or if the case were to get to trial.

Lawyers for Martinez said in a statement last week that not only is he not a high ranking Latin King, as alleged by the government, he has no gang affiliation at all, and no prior criminal history.

Martinez, a longtime Chicago resident and father of three, was arrested at the construction site where he was working long hours to support his family, his relatives and lawyers said.

“Juan has resided in the United States for 30 years, and throughout his time in Chicago, he has had no prior criminal history or gang affiliation,” the statement said. “As a dedicated union member, Juan as consistently worked to provide for his family while contributing positively to the community; he even coaches his kids’ sports teams.”

During his initial appearance in court earlier this month, prosecutors said Martinez is not a U.S. citizen. They sought to keep him held without bond as a flight risk and danger to the community, and Martinez’s lawyers have waived any detention hearing for the time being.

According to the complaint filed Oct. 5, Martinez, a ranking member of the Latin Kings, told a law enforcement source after an immigration agent shot a woman in the Brighton Park neighborhood “that he had dispatched members of the Latin Kings to the area of the 39th and Kedzie … in response to the shooting.”

A day later, the source showed a screenshot to law enforcement that had been sent to him by Martinez depicting a conversation Martinez had with an unknown individual, according to the complaint. In that conversation, Martinez allegedly said “lets get some guys out here bro.” The other person wrote back, “Let one of us be in front with the (green gun emoji)” the complaint stated.

The law enforcement source also shared Snapchat messages that Martinez had sent him saying, “2k on information when you get him” and “10k if u take him down,” according to the complaint.

The message also stated “LK on him,” which was a reference to the Latin Kings, the complaint alleged.

Included in the message was a photo of Bovino, who has recently participated in immigration enforcement operations in Chicago on behalf of the U.S. Border Patrol, according to a law enforcement source and the complaint, which identifies Bovino only as a senior Border Patrol official.

In a guest appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week, Bovino addressed the charges without identifying himself as the target of the alleged plot.

“It’s a war zone out there,” Bovino said about Chicago. “(DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned a bounty on the heads of federal agents. That $2,000 to kidnap, $10,000 to kill senior Border Patrol officials and senior ICE officials here in Chicago. Now, Sean, what happens between the kidnapping and the killing portion? That’s something out of a third-world country. Is this America?”

When someone posted later on X that the bounty was allegedly for Bovino, he responded through his X account: “You just might be right.”

Meanwhile, federal leaders have tried to use Martinez’s case to allege that it is part of a coordinated effort by criminal gangs to go after immigration officials, though they’ve offered no further evidence.

On Tuesday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin referenced the allegations on Fox News, saying it was evidence of a “coordinated, highly organized waging of war against our law enforcement and a terror campaign against them.”

”They’re now handing intelligence over to these cartels, these criminal gangs, to go after our law enforcement, harass them, dox them, kidnap them and, god forbid, kill them.”

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