Federal officials have charged two Guatemalan nationals with illegal re-entry after separate arrests earlier this month in Western New York.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced Monday that Sebastian Tzib Putul, 32, and Mario Salguero Sandoval, 36, were taken into custody and charged in criminal complaints. Each faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to prosecutors, U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle in Cheektowaga on June 9. Tzib Putul, one of six individuals inside, was found to have no documentation permitting him to be in the United States. Authorities later confirmed he had previously been deported in January 2024.
The following day, Border Patrol agents stopped another vehicle in Buffalo, this time with seven occupants. Salguero Sandoval, the driver, did not provide a valid driver’s license or answer questions about his immigration status. He was detained and later identified as a Guatemalan national who had been deported in July 2015.
Both men were ordered held following initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy.
The arrests are part of Operation Take Back America, a national Department of Justice initiative focused on combating illegal immigration and transnational crime.
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