Uriel Landeros Turns Himself In

Robert Boyd

After running away and hiding in Mexico for several months, Uriel Landeros has turned himself in, according to click2houston.com.

According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Uriel Landeros turned himself in at the Hidalgo Port of Entry shortly after crossing the border from Mexico into the United States about 4 p.m. on Tuesday. He has been charged with criminal mischief and felony graffiti, both of which are third-degree felonies. He's being held at the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office awaiting extradition to Harris County.

Landeros said he's not apologetic for spray painting a stenciled image of a bull, a matador, and the Spanish word "CONQUISTA," which means conquest, onto Picasso's "Woman in a Red Armchair."

"(Expletive) his painting. It's just a piece of cloth. What matters most is the people who are suffering," Landeros said.

Landeros said his actions were fueled by a mixture of social and political defiance.
"I'm part of the whole Occupy movement," Landeros explained.

Landeros said he chose the 13th of June because the number refers to a power structure. He said all he wanted to do was shed light on the corruption of banks, government and large institutions in the United States and Mexico.

"If I wanted to destroy that piece, I could have done it," he claimed. "The spray paint that I used was easily taken away." ["Man accused of defacing Picasso turns self in," January 8, 2013, click2houston.com]

Landeros reconfirmed that he is an utter idiot by adding the following: "I really don't give a (expletive) about the 15 minutes of fame. If anything, I made that painting more famous than what it is."