Convicted drug trafficker sentenced for illegally re-entering country after seven prior removals

LAREDO, Texas – A 43-year-old Mexican man has been sentenced following another conviction for illegally re-entering the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Gabino Escamilla pleaded guilty Nov. 8, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez has now ordered Escamilla to serve 40 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Escamilla is again expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard about Escamilla’s conviction in 2016 for conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine in Columbus, Ohio. Escamilla had already been removed from the United States six times prior to his conviction for drug trafficking.

On Aug. 30, 2023, law enforcement encountered Escamilla near Laredo. Escamilla was first ordered removed Jan. 25, 2010, and has subsequently been removed by authorities seven times from 2010 to 2019. 

Escamilla will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence A. Check Jr. prosecuted the case.