United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana
07/10/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/10/2026 18:19
Honduran Illegal Alien Sentenced for Illegal Re-Entry of Removed Alien
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OBLAN ANTONIO CANALES-MARTINEZ ("CANALES-MARTINEZ"), age 51, a native of Honduras, was sentenced on July 9, 2026, after previously pleading guilty to illegal re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
According to the charging document, the defendant was found in the United States on December 13, 2025, having reentered the United States without authorization from the Attorney General of the United States, after being previously deported on July 18, 2005.
According to court documents, federal agents arrived at an apartment complex in Metairie, Louisiana, and saw a white Toyota Tundra leaving the area. A search of the truck's license plate revealed its owner to be CANALES-MARTINEZ, a Honduran national previously deported on July 18, 2005. The truck was followed to a Shell station located on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie, Louisiana. CANALES-MARTINEZ exited the truck and began filling it with gasoline. When the truck was stopped at a gas station, the uniformed federal agents approached CANALES-MARTINEZ. CANALES MARTINEZ then threw coffee in one of the agents' faces and fled. After chasing and apprehending CANALES-MARTINEZ, the agents arrested him.
CANALES-MARTINEZ was sentenced to time served. He has been in federal custody since December 29, 2025.
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.
U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
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United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana published this content on July 10, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 11, 2026 at 00:19 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]