Ruben Ray Martinez was shot to death in South Padre Island on March 15, 2025, in an almost identical procedure to the execution of Renee Good.
…HSI group supervisory special agent utilized his government-issued service weapon, discharging multiple rounds at the driver through the open driver’s side window.
The news of the execution was covered locally, yet ICE buried the report. The obvious connection to ICE procedures being videoed in Minneapolis was not made until now.
On January 7, Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old writer and mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an immigration operation in Minneapolis.
Less than three weeks later, on January 24, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, was shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis during the same enforcement deployment.
The video of ICE publicly executing Good lays bare the methods used on U.S. citizens. An agent stands near the front of a vehicle while he and others intentionally escalate fear, threatening and agitating the driver, then they shoot to kill through the driver side window at close range.
In a sworn statement given to lawyers representing Martinez’s family, Orta described the events leading up to the shooting as “spontaneous” and “lighthearted,” recounting a trip to visit friends on South Padre Island just days after Martinez’s birthday.
According to Orta, the two were driving cautiously through traffic when local and state officers approached their car. He said Martinez never struck anyone, accelerated dangerously, or posed a threat, contradicting official claims.
“The trooper seemed to be trying to get in front of the car, like he wasn’t moving out of the way when we tried to turn around and leave like the police officer told us to do,” Orta said in a witness statement obtained by Newsweek and earlier reported by The New York Times on Monday.
Orta said that a federal agent fired multiple shots at Martinez from just a few feet away without issuing any warnings or giving him a chance to comply. He recounted that officers delayed medical aid for at least 10 minutes after Martinez was shot and handcuffed him while he was clearly unconscious.
“Following the shooting, law enforcement pulled Ruben from the car while he was clearly unconscious or already dead,” Orta wrote. “Despite this, they put him face down on the pavement and handcuffed him. At least 10 minutes passed before any tried CPR or other treatment on Ruben.”
“Ruben was driving cautiously in traffic in his proper lane and certainly did not strike anyone with his vehicle,” Orta wrote.
