RIVERDALE, Md. (AP) — Federal agents and local police in Maryland have arrested a Mexican national wanted for a slaying that occurred more than 30 years ago in Texas.

Authorities say Jesus Blas-Perea, 53, was arrested Monday at his home in Riverdale, near Washington.

Blas-Perea is wanted for first-degree murder in Harris County, Texas. He’s a suspect in the December 1981 slaying of Jose Santos-Duque.

He was arrested under an initiative launched last year by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit. Agents are looking for foreign nationals suspected in unsolved slayings dating back to the 1970s.

ICE says Blas-Perea was deported twice for being in the country unlawfully before he was a suspect. He’s in custody in Maryland, pending extradition to Texas, and he’s also the subject of an immigration detainer.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)