Mexican Man Charged for Reentering the United States

The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont and the Swanton Sector Office of the United States Border Patrol announce that Zein Diaz-Ventura, 27, a citizen of Mexico, was arraigned yesterday in U.S. District Court on an indictment charging him with reentering the United States after having previously been removed from the country. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Conroy ordered the defendant detained pending trial.

According to court records, Diaz-Ventura was the passenger in a vehicle with license plates “not on file” traveling on State Route 105 in Richford, Vermont in the evening on May 11, 2018. U.S. Border Patrol pulled over the vehicle and subsequently determined that Diaz-Ventura has two prior 2012 misdemeanor convictions for illegal entry into the United States and has been removed from the United States on three occasions. In addition, Diaz-Ventura was convicted of misdemeanor battery (domestic violence) in Florida in 2012.

The United States Attorney emphasizes that the charge against Diaz-Ventura is merely an accusation, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.

If convicted, the defendant faces up to 2 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence would be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.

The Swanton Sector Border Patrol is responsible for securing the land border between ports of entry in Vermont as well as New Hampshire and northeastern New York. The assistance of citizens is invaluable in helping the U.S. Border Patrol accomplish their border security mission and they welcome community members to help them keep our nation’s borders safe by reporting suspicious activity at 1-800-689-3362.

For more on CBP’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.

Diaz-Ventura is represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Cate.