A man stole Kristi Noem’s purse while her Secret Service agents stood nearby, and a judge just handed down his sentence

A United States district court has sentenced a Chilean national to three years in prison for stealing the purse of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Mario Bustamante Leiva, 50, will be deported upon completing his sentence, a move confirmed by the Trump administration on Wednesday. The theft occurred on April 20, 2025, while Noem was dining with her family at Capital Burger in Washington, DC.

As detailed by Al Jazeera, surveillance footage captured Bustamante Leiva surveilling Noem’s bag multiple times before grabbing it. The bag contained several credit cards and approximately $3,000 in cash. Secret Service agents were present at the time of the theft.

Bustamante Leiva was charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated, “Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the District. He methodically targeted women at restaurants, stealing their purses, and monetizing the stolen cards within minutes. His pattern of theft ends here. He will serve his prison term and be deported.”

The case became a vehicle for the administration’s broader deportation push

Prosecutors noted that Bustamante Leiva did not act alone. His co-defendant, Cristian Montecino-Sanzana, was linked to a separate theft on April 12 and received a sentence of 13 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, also with deportation to follow. Investigators further connected Bustamante Leiva to a theft on April 17 at the Westin Hotel, where stolen credit cards were used to purchase gift cards at a grocery store. Amid a series of high-profile criminal sentencings, including a fire captain’s life sentence handed down this week, the Bustamante Leiva case stood out for its political dimensions.

The Trump administration has used the incident to support its push for deportations and a military-led crackdown on crime in Washington, DC. President Trump initiated National Guard deployments across the country to address immigration and crime concerns, bringing the campaign to the capital on August 11. An executive order described the city as being “under siege from violent crime,” leading to the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to support local authorities, with roughly 2,500 currently on the ground.

An analysis of Metropolitan Police Department records from August 7 through August 25, 2025, reported by CBS News, showed that violent crime was down by nearly half compared to the same period in 2024. Despite those figures, the White House maintained that the troop presence was responsible for improved safety. The President called local crime data “phony” during a cabinet meeting in August without providing supporting evidence.

The troop deployment has drawn pushback from local officials. DC Council member Brianne Nadeau noted that the heavy federal presence was affecting businesses and causing daycares to avoid taking children to parks. Mayor Muriel Bowser also questioned the necessity of bringing in over a thousand National Guard members from other states. The Trump administration, which has separately pursued investigations into federal officials from prior administrations, has pointed to cases like Bustamante Leiva’s as justification for its crime and immigration posture in the capital.

Noem was fired as Homeland Security secretary on March 5, 2026, amid scrutiny over government spending and immigration enforcement tactics. She has since taken on a role with the Shield of the Americas initiative, which focuses on encouraging Latin American leaders to counter Chinese influence and strengthen anti-crime measures.