Deported Guatemalan National indicted for illegal re-entry in Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Guatemalan national previously deported from the United States has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Rhode Island on a charge of illegal re-entry.

Federal prosecutors allege that 48-year-old Marco Tulio Gonzales Cahueque, also known as Santos Israel Ortiz Cahueque, reentered the U.S. after being removed in May 2004. He was flagged in December 2024 following a DUI arrest in Rhode Island, when his fingerprints were matched to immigration records through a national database.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers located and arrested him in his vehicle on June 3, 2025. He now faces a federal charge related to his re-entry into the country without authorization.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julianne Klein and Dulce Donovan. The investigation was conducted by ICE, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.

This prosecution is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a federal initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal activity through coordinated efforts involving the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).