Previously Deported Dominican National Charged with Illegal Reentry After Drug Trafficking Conviction

PROVIDENCE - A federal grand jury in Providence has returned an indictment charging a previously deported Dominican national with illegal reentry into the United States following a drug trafficking conviction, announced United States Attorney Charles C. Calenda.

Fabio Lenin Aza-Velez, 45, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, is charged by indictment with illegal reentry into the United States following deportation after conviction for an aggravated felony.

According to the indictment, Aza-Velez was previously removed from the United States on November 10, 2009, after being convicted in New York for felony narcotics offenses, including criminal sale of a controlled substance on school grounds.

Court records indicate that on January 12, 2006, he was sentenced to three to nine years' imprisonment for those offenses. The indictment alleges that after having been removed from the United States, the defendant illegally reentered the country without obtaining consent of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.

Aza-Velez was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on March 12, 2026.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

The matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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