Tallahassee, FL – Sixteen previously deported individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally reentering the United States, according to an announcement made by United States Attorney John P. Heekin for the Northern District of Florida. This development follows recent immigration enforcement actions identifying these individuals.
The indictments include Jose Victor Aguilar-Zelaya, 40, from Honduras, who was found in Fort Walton Beach in March 2025, after a 2010 deportation. Oscar Alva-Cabrera, 23, from Mexico, was located in Gulf Breeze in May 2025, following a 2024 deportation. Ofelia Andrea Caal-Chub, 22, from Guatemala, was discovered in Madison County in June 2025, after being deported in 2021. Also indicted were Bernardo Chavez-Chavez, 46, from Mexico, discovered in Tallahassee in May 2025 after a 1997 deportation, and Joel Coto-Mendoza, 48, from Honduras, found in Pensacola in May 2025 after a 2023 deportation.
Others indicted include Luis Armando Funez-Gomez, 48, and Roberto Gonzales-Coto, 46, both from Honduras, as well as Candido Hurtado-Solano, 39, and Juan Hurtado-Solano, 43, from Mexico, all located in various Florida cities. The list continues with Omar Jimenez-Salinas, 29, from Mexico, Jose Luis Morales-Huerta, 40, from Mexico, Cevero Enrique Ordonez, 29, from Guatemala, and several others from Mexico and Guatemala found in Florida’s Pensacola, Tallahassee, and Santa Rosa County areas across different months in 2025.
The crime of illegal reentry into the United States after deportation carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine per individual. The investigations were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and various other federal and local enforcement agencies.
These cases form part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The operation is a collaborative effort between the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, one of 94 such offices nationwide under the direction of the Attorney General, is leading the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Etherton, Harley Ferguson, Alicia Forbes, Justin Keen, Walter Narramore, and Eric Welch are handling these cases.
Anyone interested in more information or access to public court documents can visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida’s website. For further inquiries, contact the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, via email at USAFLN.Press.Office@usdoj.gov.
