Defendants with former cocaine convictions plead guilty to illegally reentering United States

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Mexican nationals pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to illegally reentering the United States. 

Juan Carlos Garcia-Vazquez, 45, was convicted in Franklin County in 2024 for cocaine trafficking. The defendant was previously removed from the United States in 2004 and 2013.

Previous convictions for Lino Mendiola-Vanegas, 45, include cocaine trafficking and forgery in Franklin County. He admitted to illegally reentering the United States after being ordered removed in 2010.

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 pleas entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Kenneth F. Affeldt is representing the United States in both cases.

Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has a prior felony conviction (or multiple prior misdemeanor convictions of certain types), the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison. Transporting illegal aliens is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Possessing a firearm as an illegal alien is a federal crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

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

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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