Chilean suspects in athlete burglaries arrested, await possible U.S. extradition

Three Chilean citizens wanted on federal charges in the United States were arrested in Argentina after investigators linked them to a theft network that allegedly hit athletes’ homes in both North and South America. The arrests, carried out by Argentine federal police with Chilean police, put renewed focus on how the crew is accused of using public schedules and home-security gaps to target high-profile players.

Two of the men, Ignacio Zuniga Cartes and Bastian Jimenez Freraut, were also tied by Argentine authorities to a robbery at the home of Argentine tennis star Juan Martin del Potro. Pablo Zuniga Cartes was arrested separately, and Argentine authorities said his arrest was unrelated to the Del Potro case. All three were back in Chile awaiting possible extradition to the United States.

The U.S. case dates to a federal complaint unsealed in February 2025 in the Middle District of Florida, where seven Chilean nationals were charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Prosecutors said the defendants belonged to a South American theft group that burglarized homes while athletes were away or at games, and said the stolen property across the spree topped $2 million. The complaint said the burglaries hit Kansas City-area homes on Oct. 5 and Oct. 7, 2024, a Tampa home on Oct. 21, a Wisconsin home tied to Milwaukee Bucks player Bobby Portis on Nov. 2, a Cincinnati home on Dec. 9, and a Memphis home between Dec. 19 and Dec. 20.

Investigators said the stolen goods included jewelry, watches, cash, designer luggage, designer bags, a firearm and a safe. In the Milwaukee case, authorities said the missing property was worth nearly $1.5 million. In Cincinnati, the loss was about $300,000, and in Memphis it was about $1 million. The complaint also included a photograph of three suspects posed with a safe and jewelry that authorities said came from the Portis burglary.

The case drew wider scrutiny after the FBI warned sports leagues in December 2024 about the pattern. Police in Chile later said the suspects checked home security levels and reviewed victims’ social media profiles before the burglaries, and said they had no significant criminal record in Chile. With the alleged ring now split across jurisdictions, the case has become a test of how quickly law enforcement can track mobile crews that move from one country to another while exploiting the visibility that comes with elite sports.