Authorities have launched an international manhunt for a U.S. Navy reservist on active duty who is accused of killing his wife and is believed to have fled to Hong Kong, according to law enforcement officials.Police in Norfolk, Virginia, identified the suspect as 38-year-old David Varela. Officers discovered the body of his wife, 39-year-old Lina Maria Guerra Echavarria, inside a kitchen freezer at the couple’s apartment on Feb. 5, after her family reported her missing.
An autopsy conducted on Feb. 10 ruled Guerra Echavarria’s death a homicide, and Varela has been charged with first-degree murder and concealing a dead body to prevent detection.
Federal authorities allege Varela left the United States on or about Feb. 5 and flew to Hong Kong, according to a federal affidavit. Emergency disclosure requests and WhatsApp location data reportedly showed Varela’s phone pinging in Hong Kong, though investigators said he has no known ties to that city.
Norfolk police are working with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI in the search for Varela, and extradition efforts are underway. Prosecutors have filed paperwork seeking an Interpol Red Notice to aid in his capture and return to the United States.
The FBI told Fox News Digital in a statement that the agency is “unwavering in its support of our local partners and will leverage its full investigative and international capabilities to help ensure those responsible for violent crimes are held accountable — regardless of where they attempt to flee.”
Family members described Guerra Echavarria’s disappearance and death as shocking. Relatives told local media that Varela had provided them with false information about her being jailed on unrelated charges in the weeks before she was reported missing.
The investigation remains active, and authorities have not released a motive for the alleged killing, Fox4Dallas reported.
Meanwhile, the War Department is continuing its campaign to use Navy assets to take out boats transporting illicit and deadly drugs from South America.
U.S. Southern Command announced in December that American forces had conducted another lethal kinetic strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four suspected narco-terrorists and destroying a smuggling vessel believed to be carrying a significant quantity of illicit drugs.
The strike, authorized by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth under Operation Southern Spear, is the 22nd such operation against cartel-linked traffickers in international waters and brings the total number of suspected narco-terrorists killed to nearly 90, according to the command.
The operations have continued despite criticism from some members of Congress who have questioned the administration’s use of military force in anti-trafficking missions, Conservative Brief reported.
U.S. military forces carried out a strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean that killed four suspected narco-terrorists and destroyed the vessel they were using to transport the drugs.
On Dec. 4, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and… pic.twitter.com/pqksvxM3HP
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 4, 2025
U.S. Southern Command announced the operation in a post on X, describing it as a lethal kinetic strike targeting a smuggling boat believed to be engaged in narcotics trafficking, the report noted.
U.S. Southern Command said the latest strike on a drug-smuggling vessel occurred Thursday in international waters and was carried out at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The command described those killed as “four male narco-terrorists.”
The operation, conducted under Operation Southern Spear, was the 22nd such strike on a narco-terrorist-operated vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean. With Thursday’s fatalities, Southern Command estimates the total number of suspected narco-terrorists killed in these actions at approximately 87.
The announcement on X included unclassified video showing a heavily loaded vessel with three outboard motors erupting in flames after being hit by the U.S. military. Thursday’s strike was the first attack on a narco boat since Nov. 15, according to the report.
