Alleged 18th Street gang member pleads guilty to illegally reentering United States

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An alleged transnational gang member pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to illegally reentering the United States.

Milton Guevara-Cruz, 31, of El Salvador, illegally reentered the country after being convicted of a felony.

Charging documents in this case state that Guevara-Cruz is believed to be a member of the violent 18^th Street transnational gang from El Salvador. He is described as a member of the gang’s Tyni Locos Surenos clique who has been arrested in El Salvador three times for related criminal activity.

Guevara-Cruz’s plea agreement details that ICE officers encountered the defendant on March 11 in Columbus. He was physically removed from the United States on multiple prior occasions, including in 2014, 2017 and 2019. His most recent removal occurred after he was convicted of illegal reentry in federal court in New Mexico.

Illegally reentering the United States after a felony conviction is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court at a future hearing based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and  Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the guilty plea entered on May 20 before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Deputy Criminal Chief Brian J. Martinez is representing the United States in this case.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Southern District of Ohio Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal 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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