Guwahati: U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to crack down on undocumented criminals following the brutal beheading of 50-year-old Chandra Nagamallaiah, an Indian national, at a Dallas motel.
Trump made the statement on Sunday after authorities confirmed that the accused, a Cuban national, had previously been released under the Biden administration despite a violent criminal history.
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Trump, posting on his Truth Social platform, described the killing as “gruesome” and blamed U.S. immigration policy for allowing the accused to remain in the country.
“This illegal alien from Cuba should never have been here,” Trump wrote. “Chandra was a respected member of the Dallas community. His killer will face the harshest punishment possible.”
The horrific incident occurred on September 10 at the Downtown Suites motel in Dallas, where both Nagamallaiah and the accused, 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, worked.
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According to an arrest affidavit from Dallas Police, the confrontation began after Nagamallaiah asked Cobos-Martinez and a colleague not to use a broken washing machine.
When Nagamallaiah directed his request through the colleague, due to a language barrier, Cobos-Martinez reportedly grew angry and left the room.
Surveillance footage captured Cobos-Martinez returning with a machete and attacking Nagamallaiah repeatedly.
Witnesses saw the victim scream and run through the motel’s parking lot, while the attacker chased him down and struck him multiple times in front of his wife and son.
Eyewitnesses said Cobos-Martinez ignored their pleas to stop and continued the assault until he decapitated the victim.
The affidavit further reveals that after the beheading, the suspect kicked Nagamallaiah’s head across the parking lot, placed it in a trash bin, and was still holding the machete when officers arrived. Police arrested him at the scene, covered in blood. During questioning, Cobos-Martinez reportedly admitted to committing the murder.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that authorities had previously arrested Cobos-Martinez for several violent crimes, including child sexual abuse, auto theft, and false imprisonment, in Texas, Florida, and California. Despite his criminal record, DHS said the Biden administration released him because Cuba refused to take him back.
Trump sharply criticized that decision. “This criminal had already been arrested for horrific crimes, but Biden’s incompetence let him stay,” he said. “That ends now. My administration will not go soft on illegal immigrant criminals.”
He also announced that if re-elected, his team, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Border Czar Tom Homan, would enforce stricter immigration laws and prioritize national security. “We will make America safe again,” Trump declared.
Dallas police have charged Cobos-Martinez with first-degree murder. Investigators are continuing to review security footage and witness testimonies.