PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Edwin Joel Martinez-Cruz, also known as “Edwin Joel Ibarras-Ardon” and “Edwin Ibarra,” 38, of Nicaragua, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegal reentry into the United States. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This criminal illegal alien is precisely who Operation Take Back America is intended to protect our communities – and our country – from: a convicted human trafficker who has shown no regard for human life or our laws. Thanks to the commitment of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to unleash the full power of the Department of Justice, the citizens of the Northern District of Florida can rest assured that my office will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases to deliver just punishments and swift deportations to criminal alien offenders like this defendant.”
Court documents reflect that the defendant, a citizen of Nicaragua, departed the United States in 2022 after an Immigration Judge entered an Order of Removal. He illegally returned to the United States less than a year later and was convicted for human trafficking of a child.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant United States Attorney Brooke DiSalvo prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, human and drug trafficking.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl .
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Northern District of Florida — U.S. Department of Justice press release.