The Buffalo Soldier Gate at Fort Bliss, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

AUSTIN, Texas — A former Fort Bliss soldier was extradited to Mexico on Tuesday to face a murder charge in the death of his girlfriend, the Justice Department said.

Saul Luna Villa, 24, was a specialist assigned to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, when he was accused of traveling to Mexico on April 7, 2023, and killing a 19-year-old mother whom he was dating, according to court records.

The U.S. Marshals Service took custody of Luna Villa in September, and he did not fight extradition in court. He was surrendered to Mexican authorities Tuesday morning, said Nicole Navas Oxman, spokeswoman for the Justice Department.

The 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss confirmed Luna Villa was discharged from the Army this month while in federal custody.

Spc. Saul Luna Villa is charged with murder in Mexico for the April 7, 2023, death of his girlfriend, according to federal court records. (U.S. Army)

Mexican authorities accused Luna Villa of traveling to Juarez, the town that borders El Paso, in a truck similar to one seen in surveillance footage near where the woman’s body was found. He also matched the description of the man seen in the video.

Court documents do not name the woman, but her mother identified her in local news reports as Aylin Valenzuela.

Valenzuela told her mother earlier that day she was meeting Luna Villa, according to court documents. She also sent a photo of herself to her mother’s phone in the minutes before she died that included Luna Villa’s arm, which her mother identified by his tattoos. Mexican authorities issued the arrest warrant for Luna Villa on April 14, 2023.

The former soldier is from Burlington, Wis., and was stationed at Fort Bliss for more than two years, according to his official service record.