Three-time deported Honduran national sentenced to federal prison for re-entering the United States

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, FLa. – Noe Alexander Flores Vasquez, 35, of Honduras, was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to illegal reentry by a deported alien. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This violent illegal alien has repeatedly violated our federal laws and threatened public safety while unlawfully present in our country, and now he’ll spend his days in federal prison. Our state and federal law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting our communities against these kinds of criminal aliens, and my office will continue to deliver successful prosecutions of these offenders to fulfill the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America from the violent criminal aliens who refuse to follow our laws.”

Court documents reflect that the defendant was found to be unlawfully in the United States when he was arrested for battery offenses in Alachua County on November 26, 2024. The defendant was previously removed and deported from the United States on three separate occasions. Prior to one of his removals, the defendant was separately convicted of a felony involving a battery on an officer, firefighter, or medical provider.

Flores Vazquez entered a plea of nolo contendere to battery with a prior battery conviction, resisting an officer without violence, and making a threat to do violence; in July 2025, Judge Denise Ferrero sentenced him to time served (7 months and 23 days), but in a motion to the court to withdraw his plea after sentencing, he said he was “currently housed facing deportation.”

“This sentencing reaffirms or commitment to enforcing federal immigration laws and protecting those who serve our communities,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas G. Ingegno.  “The defendant’s unlawful entry into the United States – after a prior deportation and conviction of battery against an officer, firefighter, or medical provider – posed a clear threat to public safety.  This individual has now been held accountable, and the investigations outcome reflects HSI’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the public and uphold” the rule of law.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner.

This case is 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.