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Who is Mario Bustamante Leiva? All we know about illegal immigrant accused of stealing Kristi Noem’s purse
Mario Bustamante Leiva is a Chilean national who was previously busted for a similar scheme in London.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C., announced on Sunday, April 27, that a 49-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection to the theft of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem's bag. Mario Bustamante Leiva is a Chilean national who was previously busted for a similar scheme in London, law enforcement sources told the New York Post.
Noem’s purse had $3,000 in cash, her driver’s license, passport, DHS badge and apartment keys when it was stolen on April 20. At the time of the theft, Noem was on an Easter outing with her family at The Capital Burger in Washington, D.C. A masked man was later seen on surveillance footage grabbing the bag and leaving the restaurant.
Who is Mario Bustamante Leiva?
Leiva was in the US illegally, and is believed to be part of a large East Coast robbery organisation. He was previously arrested in 2015 for a five-month robbery spree in London. At the time, he made off with nearly 28,000 worth of phones, wallets and computers, according to a report from the Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, police later arrested a second suspect, who is also an illegal immigrant, in Miami. The person is being held on a deportation notice while charges are being finalised.
"On Saturday, April 26, 2025, members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Secret Service located and arrested 49-year-old Mario Bustamante Leiva," the MPD told Newsweek. "Leiva was charged with two counts of Robbery (Stealth). He faces additional charges for an offense being investigated by the United States Secret Service."
Leiva and the other suspect reportedly worked together as a pair. They have been involved in similar robbery schemes across the country.
Noem has taken to X to address the arrest. “Thank you to @SecretService @ICEgov and our law enforcement partners for finding and arresting the criminal who stole my bag on Easter Sunday as I shared a meal with my family at a Washington DC restaurant,” she wrote. “This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.”
“Unfortunately, so many families in this country have been made victims by crime, and that’s why President Trump is working every single day to make America safe and get these criminal aliens off of our streets,” Noem added.
US Attorney Ed Martin said that the suspects were possibly attracted to Noem’s expensive Gucci bag, and did not target her because of her high-profile position. “It was frankly… a nice looking purse. This was not an amateur. This was a person, a thief, that knew how to do this. You could see how he scouted the room out,” Martin told NBC News.
Martin added that with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement involved in Noem’s case, it will be ensured that Leiva and his accomplice never set foot in the country again. “President Trump’s direction to us is we charge these folks that are here illegally and we prosecute them, as well as deport them when need be, you know, as soon as that can happen,” he said. “What I can tell you is he won’t be back on the streets of America.”
Meanwhile, Secret Service Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool told Newsweek, "Following a comprehensive investigation, the Secret Service alleges that the defendant is a serial offender. We have also determined that this incident had no protective nexus to Secretary Noem or her role as Secretary of Homeland Security."
"The investigation revealed alleged criminal activity, including potential device and credit card fraud. Given this, the Secret Service will maintain jurisdiction over the case and intends to present its findings to a federal court in coordination with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia,” McCool added.
