CONVICTED HUMAN TRAFFICKER FROM NICARAGUA PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGALLY REENTERING THE COUNTRY

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Edwin Joel Martinez-Cruz, also known as “Edwin Joel Ibarras-Ardon” and “Edwin Ibarra,” 38, of Nicaragua, pleaded guilty in federal court to illegal reentry into the United States. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This criminal illegal alien thought he could repeatedly violate our nation’s laws without consequence. Wrong. My office stands ready to aggressively prosecute serial offenders, like this defendant, to ensure he is kept off our streets, fulfilling the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America from the criminal illegal aliens who threaten the safety of our communities.”

Court documents reflect that the defendant departed the United States in 2022 after an Immigration Judge entered an Order of Removal. He illegally returned to the United States less than a year later and was convicted for human trafficking of a child. Rodriguez now faces up to two years in prison followed by removal from the United States.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant United States Attorney Brooke DiSalvo is prosecuting the case.

Martinez-Cruz’s sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2026, at 1:00 pm at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II.

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.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.