A 28-year-old man from El Salvador, Ronald Alberto Rivas-Aguilar, has been sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for unlawfully reentering the United States after being removed. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas.
Rivas-Aguilar pleaded guilty on November 10, 2025. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Eskridge handed down the sentence and noted that Rivas is not a U.S. citizen and will likely face removal proceedings again after serving his sentence.
At the sentencing hearing, additional evidence about Rivas’s criminal history while he was illegally present in the country was presented to the court.
“Rivas-Aguilar pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit murder, was convicted, and removed from the United States—and still, he came back,” said Ganjei. “Gang members who believe that a prior removal is nothing more than an inconvenience should look carefully at what is happening in the Southern District of Texas. Working with our law enforcement partners, we will ensure that you never have the chance to bring your violence back into our country.”
According to court documents, in 2016 Rivas conspired with another MS-13 gang member to murder a rival gang member in Fort Bend County. He transported the victim to Buffalo Run Park and tied his ankles with shoelaces before a coconspirator killed him with a machete. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, Rivas was deported to El Salvador.
Despite this, authorities encountered him again during a traffic stop in July 2025 after he had returned illegally to the United States. He was taken into custody at that time.
Rivas remains in custody and will be transferred soon to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Valenti and Amanda Alum prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America, which is an initiative led by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.
The Southern District of Texas office is part of the U.S. Department of Justice and serves under the Attorney General’s direction. It operates offices in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville (source). The office employs over 200 attorneys covering 43 counties with a population exceeding nine million (source). In addition to prosecuting federal crimes like those described above, it also handles civil cases for the government (source). The district has seen several notable leaders over time including Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) and Ryan Patrick (history page).
