U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested three dangerous men, including two confirmed gang members, after they illegally re-entered the United States near Nogales and Sasabe.
At approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday January 7, Tucson Sector agents patrolling in Ephraim Canyon, near Nogales, encountered Francisco Javier Cruz-Ramirez, a 34-year-old Mexican national 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 that morning, agents apprehended a man after observing him illegally enter the United States west of Nogales. Records checks identified the 34-year-old Mexican national as Alberto Vazquez-Valdez, a documented, admitted Sureños gang member.
On Thursday January 9, 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.
