Previously Deported Guatemalan National with Murder for Hire Conviction Admits Illegally Reentering U.S.

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced MARIO RAMIRO ARAGON-RUANO, also known as Mario Ramiro Aragon and Jose Juana-Zapata, 43, a citizen of Guatemala, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to unlawful reentry of a removed alien.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in August 2006, Aragon-Ruano, using the name Jose Juana-Zapata, was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in Arizona. He was deported to Guatemala later that month and warned that he could not return to the U.S. for a period of five years. He subsequently reentered the U.S. and was arrested in 2007.

In August 2008, Aragon-Ruano was convicted, under the name Mario Ramiro Aragon, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on a federal charge of murder for hire, and was sentenced to 87 months of imprisonment. In September 2013, he was again deported to Guatemala.

In July 2019, U.S. Border Patrol encountered Aragon-Ruano in Arizona. In January 2020, he was convicted in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported and he was sentenced to 13 months and one day of imprisonment. He was deported to Guatemala a third time in July 2020.

Aragon-Ruano subsequently unlawfully reentered the U.S. On January 10, 2026, he was arrested by Waterbury Police and charged with criminal trespass in the first degree and breach of peace in the second degree. After Aragon-Ruano was released on bond on those state charges, he was arrested by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations on January 12, 2026, in Waterbury.

Aragon-Ruano has been detained since his arrest. Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for July 1, 2026, at which time Aragon-Ruano faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

This matter is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.

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.