U.S. authorities have arrested an international fugitive wanted in the slaying of his girlfriend, whose sister found her dead in a Mexican apartment three years ago.

Juan Manuel Reverter, a 38-year-old Argentine national, is being held on a visa violation pending deportation proceedings, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a Friday statement to The Independent.

“He entered the country on August 4, 2024, on a visa that would allow him to remain in the country for six months," the spokesperson said. "In violation of our nation’s laws, he overstayed his visa."

The sister of victim Agostina Jalabert, an Argentine model, told TV station KOIN that she learned of Reverter’s arrest in Deschutes County, Oregon, when checked the news on her phone Thursday.

"For us, this is like Christmas,” Candela Jalabert said.

Mexican prosecutors allege that Reverter beat and strangled Agostina Jalabert, then tried to make it appear as if she had died by suicide in an apartment in the coastal resort of Playa del Carmen on February 18, 2023, according to KOIN.

Candela Jalabert told the station that she was staying with the couple at the time but was away from the apartment when the killing allegedly took place.

Agostina Jalabert, 31, didn't greet her sister when Candela Jalabert returned to the apartment and found Reverter there alone, she said.

“So, I asked him, OK, where’s my sister?” she said. “Where is Tina?”

When Reverter said he didn't know, Candela Jalabert began searching the place and found her sister's body in the bathroom, she said.

Interpol issued a Red Notice request for Reverter's arrest on December 23, 2025, saying he might be in the U.S., Belize, Guatemala or Argentina.

He was on the run until an interagency federal team tracked him down and arrested him around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, KOIN said.

Murals memorializing Agostina Jalabert were painted in both Playa del Carmen and her hometown of Carmen de Patagones, Argentina, according to online reports.

Online photos also show a large street protest in the neighboring Argentine city of Viedma over her killing, with women carrying signs which read: "It was a femicide, justice for Agos."

The U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline offers support at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the U.K., the national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated men's advice line on 0808 8010 327. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org