Carlos Cabrera-Zaruma, a 45-year-old citizen of Ecuador, pleaded guilty on Apr. 2 in New Haven federal court to the charge of unlawful reentry of a removed alien, according to David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Cabrera-Zaruma’s case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to address illegal reentry into the United States by individuals with prior criminal convictions and deportations.
Court documents show that Cabrera-Zaruma first entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2000. In 2008, he was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court for sexual assault in the second degree against a victim under the age of sixteen and for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was deported to Ecuador in September 2010 but later returned unlawfully and settled again in Connecticut. Authorities arrested him on September 6, 2025, in Danbury on motor vehicle violation charges.
Since his federal arrest on October 7, 2025, Cabrera-Zaruma has remained detained. He is scheduled for sentencing in Hartford on June 29; he faces up to twenty years imprisonment for this offense.
The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration and combating transnational criminal organizations.