Three foreign nationals who had previously been deported after felony convictions have been charged with illegally reentering the United States, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
On November 10, 2025, Freddy Alexander Morales Tejada, a 24-year-old citizen of El Salvador residing in Vernon, pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court to illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported. Court records show that Morales Tejada was convicted in October 2023 in Connecticut Superior Court for carrying a pistol without a permit and failure to appear in the first degree. He was deported to El Salvador in February 2024 but was found again in South Windsor on May 19, 2025, following his arrest for engaging police in a pursuit and other motor vehicle offenses. Morales Tejada has been detained since his federal arrest on October 23, 2025. He is scheduled for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden on February 25, 2026, where he faces up to ten years in prison.
On November 3, Ioan Alin Zele (also known as Ioan Kanalos and Filippo Gaudenzi), a Romanian national aged 24, also pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after deportation. In September 2023, Zele was convicted in the Central District of California for bank fraud and unlawful use of unauthorized access devices related to food stamp benefit fraud using skimming devices. After serving a sixteen-month sentence and being removed to Romania in June 2024, Zele returned unlawfully and was arrested by Connecticut State Police under an alias for computer crime and related charges. Following completion of his state sentence and subsequent federal arrest on October 2, he has remained detained. Zele is scheduled for sentencing before Judge Bolden on February 24, facing up to twenty years’ imprisonment.
Carlos Cabrera-Zaruma, a citizen of Ecuador residing in Danbury and aged 45, was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 15 for illegal reentry after removal. According to court documents, Cabrera-Zaruma had been convicted in Connecticut Superior Court in 2008 of sexual assault against a minor under sixteen and operating under the influence; he was deported to Ecuador in September 2010 but later returned unlawfully to Connecticut. He has been detained since his arrest on October 7 this year.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stated: “An indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The investigations were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel is prosecuting the cases against Morales Tejada and Cabrera-Zaruma; Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis L. Beyerlein is handling Zele’s case.
These prosecutions fall under Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative that coordinates resources from its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) programs with the goal of combating illegal immigration as well as organized criminal activity.
