OHIO — A Salvadoran national believed to be affiliated with a violent transnational gang has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally reentering the United States after a felony conviction.
Milton Guevara-Cruz, 31, allegedly a member of the 18th Street gang’s Tyni Locos Surenos clique, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. on May 20.
Guevara-Cruz had previously been removed from the United States multiple times—in 2014, 2017, and 2019—the last following a conviction for illegal reentry in New Mexico.
According to federal authorities, ICE officers encountered him again on March 11 in Columbus.
Court documents describe Guevara-Cruz as having been arrested in El Salvador three times for gang-related activity.
His latest offense—illegally reentering the U.S. after a felony conviction—carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. The court will consider federal guidelines and statutory factors in determining the final sentence.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio as part of Operation Take Back America, a national initiative focused on combatting illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.
The case was investigated by the Southern District of Ohio Homeland Security Task Force, led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
