United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced on Thursday that a federal grand jury in Florida has indicted eight individuals for illegally reentering the country, while seven others were convicted of federal immigration crimes during the month of February.
The legal actions are part of “Operation Take Back America,” a Department of Justice initiative focused on prosecuting criminal aliens and addressing unauthorized border crossings.
“My office continues to make positive contributions to the success of Operation Take Back America as we follow the directive set forth by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to aggressively prosecute criminal aliens who have repeatedly violated our immigration laws and endangered the safety of our communities,” U.S. Attorney Heekin stated. “Those who try to lie, cheat, and steal their way into our country will be met with swift justice and quick deportations.”
The eight individuals indicted in February include Franklin Zelaya-Funez, 33, of Honduras; Mario Lopez-Martinez, 33, of Mexico; Benancio Cuyuch-Pelico, 37, of Guatemala; Santos Gonon, 25, of Guatemala; Pablo Cuyuch-Garcia, 35, of Guatemala; Jose Francisco Santizo-Perez, 41, of Guatemala; Gordolias Perez-Ramirez, 32, of Guatemala; and Antonio Isidro-Lopez, 44, of Honduras.
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Court records indicate that many of those indicted had been deported multiple times previously. For example, Mario Lopez-Martinez was reportedly removed from the U.S. in 2017, 2019, and 2020 before being located in Madison County last November. Jose Francisco Santizo-Perez was previously deported in 2010, twice in 2019, and again in 2021 before his recent arrest in Okaloosa County.
While the standard maximum penalty for illegal reentry is two years in prison and a $250,000 fine, both Zelaya-Funez and Santizo-Perez face up to 10 years in prison due to prior criminal convictions. An indictment is a formal accusation and not evidence of guilt; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
In addition to the new charges, seven men were convicted in February for being unlawfully present in the U.S. following prior removals. Those convicted include Juan Salgado, Jose Alberto Orozco-Sanchez, and Emin Perez-Mendez of Mexico; Kevin A. Perez-Portillo and Abel DeJesus Ronquillo-Martinez of El Salvador; Robin Quinones-Valles of Honduras; and Brahayan Vargas-Pinzon of Colombia.
The investigations involved several agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with local assistance from the Sheriff’s Offices of Madison, Leon, Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, as well as the Florida Highway Patrol. The cases are being prosecuted by several Assistant United States Attorneys, including Brooke DiSalvo and Eric Welch.
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