Ecuadorian National Indicted for Illegal Re-entry

PROVIDENCE – An Ecuadorian national deported from the United States in 2008 has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Rhode Island on a charge of illegal re-entry, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Manuel Yochuzga-Yopangue, a/k/a Manuel Yupangui, 34, came to the attention of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through an automated biometric fingerprint match of fingerprints entered into the National Crime Information Center in May 2025 following his arrest on state child molestation charges.

Immigration files reflect that Yochuzga-Yopangue was removed from the United States in August 2008. He is currently detained at the ACI on the Rhode Island state charges. An arraignment date in federal court on the indictment is not yet scheduled.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.

The matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

A federal indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty

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