Raul Samano-Fuerte Charged

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have returned indictments charging three Mexican nationals with violating Title 8 U.S. Code (USC) 1326, illegal reentry. Raul Samano-Fuerte, 49, has been charged with one count of illegal reentry. He has been previously removed from the United States four times with the most recent being March 10, 2009.

On June 23, 2025, Samano-Fuerte was found in Norwalk, Ohio, without the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security for readmission. Additionally, two other Mexican nationals, Gonzalo Diaz-Resendiz, 29, and Cesar Ramirez-Velazquez, aka Cesar Ramirez-Rincon, 44, have also been charged with one count of illegal reentry.

Gonzalo Diaz-Resendiz has been previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the most recent being Sept. 6, 2013. On June 30, 2025, he was found in Ottawa, Ohio, without the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security for readmission. Cesar Ramirez-Velazquez has two previous removals from the United States with the most recent being June 7, 2009.

He was again found in the country on March 19, 2024, in Norwalk, Ohio without the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security to be readmitted. Ramirez-Velazquez was also charged with two counts of possession of a fraudulent identification document for possessing a fraudulent permanent resident card and a fraudulent Social Security card in violation of Title 18 USC 1546 (a). Additionally, the defendant is charged with misuse of a Social Security Number, in violation of Title 42, USC 408 (a)(7)(B).

The investigations preceding the indictments were conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ava Rotell Dustin is leading the prosecution. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. These cases are 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, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The charges against these three Mexican nationals demonstrate the commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to enforcing immigration laws and protecting national security. As the Department of Justice continues to implement Operation Take Back America, it is likely that more individuals will be charged with similar crimes. The outcome of these cases will depend on the evidence presented and the Court’s decision.