Honduran national sentenced to 54 months in prison for drug trafficking and returning after removal

Seattle - A 30-year-old Honduran citizen was sentenced today in U.S District Court in Seattle to 54 months in prison for his role in a significant drug deal and for returning to the U.S. after being removed, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Jorge Aguilar Martinez was arrested in October 2025. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that Aguilar Martinez' conduct was driven by his desire to make money at the expense of a community decimated by fentanyl pills. "Fentanyl pills have proven to be lethal," the judge said, "It is very easy to get a fentanyl pill that contains a deadly dose."

According to records filed in the case, Aguilar Martinez connected a drug customer to those who claimed to be able to provide large amounts of meth and fentanyl pills. The customer was working with law enforcement. After the drug deal was struck, Aguilar Martinez and two other coconspirators were arrested with

some 28 pounds of methamphetamine and 10,000 fentanyl pills. Some of the meth had been packaged in cereal boxes.

Aguilar Martinez' two coconspirators were charged and then released from criminal detention pending trial. Both were illegally present in the U.S. and were removed before the criminal cases were resolved.

In asking for a five-year sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, "(T)he drug crisis is one of the most significant challenges faced within this District and nationwide. Aguilar Martinez's conduct as a drug trafficker, particularly trafficking the quantities in this case, is not only extremely serious, but also demonstrates total lack of respect for the law. More significantly, it evinces a callous disregard for the wellbeing or safety of others. Although Aguilar Martinez has no other drug convictions, he has been arrested on several prior occasions for drug trafficking behavior."

Judge Robart also noted that Aguilar Martinez almost immediately returned to the U.S. after being removed in 2024, showing that he did not respect the law.

Aguilar Martinez is directed to serve four years of supervised release should he return to the U.S. again. He is expected to be removed following his prison term.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlotte Storey. Ms. Storey is an attorney with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service specially designated to prosecute criminal cases in federal court.

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.