TUCSON – U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported felon, an MS-13 and a Sureños gang member last week after they illegally re-entered the United States near Nogales and Sasabe.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Tucson Sector agents patrolling in Ephraim Canyon, near Nogales, encountered a previously convicted felon, Francisco Javier Cruz-Ramirez, at approximately 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Cruz-Ramirez, a 34-year-old Mexican national was charged with kidnapping and misconduct involving weapons by Maricopa County, Arizona, on March 11, 2010. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for the first charge and six years for the second. He was removed from the United States on October 14, 2015.
Earlier on Tuesday, agents apprehended a man, Alberto Vazquez-Valdez, after observing him illegally enter the United States west of Nogales. Agents conducted a records check, which revealed that the 34-year-old Mexican national was a documented, and admitted Sureños gang member.
Later in the week, on Thursday evening, Border Patrol agents apprehended a second gang member after he illegally entered the United States near Sasabe. Records checks revealed Alonso Aleman, a 39-year-old Honduran national, with an extensive criminal background. Aleman is considered a security threat as an admitted member of the Mara Salvatrucha, MS-13, gang.
Cruz-Ramirez, Vazquez-Valdez, and Aleman are being held in federal custody, pending federal immigration charges.