Honduran convicted smuggler imprisoned for illegally entering country after seven removals

LAREDO, Texas – A 42-year-old Honduran man has been sentenced following another conviction for illegally re-entering the United States following an order of removal, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Abner Jovani Castellanos pleaded guilty Oct. 4, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now ordered him to serve 30 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard about Castellanos’ previous conviction in 2008 for human smuggling, in which he worked as a brush guide in a smuggling operation. During that attempt, an El Salvadoran man obtained serious injuries and part of his leg had to be amputated after it was caught underneath a moving train – Castellanos and another brush guide ordered the man to jump off the train.

On June 10, 2023, law enforcement encountered Castellanos near Laredo. He was first ordered to be removed from the United States on June 5, 2001, with six subsequent removals from 2001 to 2020, along with prior convictions for illegal entry and illegal re-entry.

Castellanos 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. and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Scott Bowling prosecuted the case.