Many of the ‘worst’ arrested by ICE in Rochester were from other states
Most of the Rochester cases listed on the Department of Homeland Security's "Worst of the Worst" website stem from out-of-state and only one person of the 18 people on the “worst” list has ever been charged with crimes committed in Olmsted County.
By John Molseed
Today at 10:00 AM
ROCHESTER — How did a man accused of being a drug cartel hit man suspected of two murders in Chihuahua, Mexico, end up in Rochester, Minnesota?
Cesar Contreras-Orosco was in federal custody at the Federal Medical Center. Like Contreras-Orosco, nearly all of Rochester’s “worst” cases are from outside of Minnesota.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security website lists 18 people as the “worst of the worst” offenders who were reportedly taken into custody in Rochester. At least five of those listed taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were serving time at the Federal Medical Center.
Only one person of the 18 people on the “worst” list has ever been charged with crimes committed in Olmsted County. Admir Vele, 37, was charged and convicted of stealing several items from a Rochester firearms store from July through August 2024. Vele also has recent convictions in Olmsted County of driving while intoxicated and driving while canceled. He is being held by ICE at the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center.
One other person convicted in Minnesota, Francisco Pena-Gutierrez, was in federal custody on a drug conviction in St. Paul District Court. Pena-Gutierrez was no longer in the Bureau of Prisons systems as of Oct. 15, 2025 and is not listed in ICE custody.
https://www.wctrib.com/news/minnesota/many-of-the-worst-arrested-by-ice-in-rochester-were-from-other-states
