The order was chilling: pay cash to take down a top U.S. border chief.
A Latin Kings gang member, in the country illegally, allegedly put a bounty on
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino — and thought Snapchat would keep it secret.
Federal investigators say the threat against Chief Gregory Bovino was not an isolated burst of online bravado,
but part of a growing pattern that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem now calls “unprecedented.”
When a confidential source tipped authorities on October 3, 2025,
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit quickly traced the Snapchat messages to Juan Espinoza Martinez in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
The screenshots showed a $2,000 bounty for tracking Bovino and a $10,000 payout “if you take him down,”
with the ominous tag “LK…on him,” signaling Latin Kings involvement.
Martinez now faces federal charges for soliciting the murder of a senior law enforcement official, yet officials warn the danger is much broader.
Noem says gangs, cartels, and even foreign terrorist organizations are circulating agents’ photos, offering thousands to kidnap or kill them.
For officers already risking their lives on the front lines, the badge has never carried a higher price.
