TUCSON, AZ — Border Patrol agents arrested a sex offender from Guatemala and an admitted MS-13 gang member from Honduras in separate incidents in southern Arizona over the weekend.
In a release, officials said on Friday agents arrested 39-year-old Mariano Sic-Cua, a citizen of Guatemala, after he entered the U.S. illegally through the desert. While Sic-Cua was being processed, agents discovered that he had a felony conviction in 2010 for sexual assault in Palm Beach, Florida, which resulted in 308 days in confinement.
On Sunday, agents patrolling near Cowlic on the Tohono O'odham Nation Reservation arrested Christopher Aquino-Canaca, of Honduras. Aquino, who is an "admitted MS-13 gang member," was arrested with a group of six others who were illegally in the United States. Aquino has previously been removed from the U.S. on two occasions, immigration officials said.
Sic is in federal custody and being prosecuted for re-entry of a previously deported felon. Aquino and the other members of his group will be processed for immigration violations.
All persons apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using biometrics to ensure illegal immigrants with criminal histories are positively identified.
