Honduran National Indicted for Illegal Re-entry

PROVIDENCE – A Honduran national deported from the United States in January 2020 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.

Pedro Marquez Benetiz, 56, recently arrested on a Rhode Island state charge of simple assault, is currently detained at the Adult Correctional Institutions. Immigration officers learned of the defendant’s presence in the United States through an automated biometric fingerprint match.

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

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dulce Donovan.

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).

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