Guatemalan National in New Bedford Gets Prison Time for Reentering U.S.

BOSTON (WBSM) — A Guatemalan national who had been unlawfully residing in New Bedford was sentenced to five months in prison Monday for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jose De Leon Ventura, 30, will also have a year of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence, and following that will be subject to deportation.

De Leon Ventura pleaded guilty in May to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. The plea came after he was arrested in April 2025, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he has remained in custody ever since.

READ MORE: Guatemalan Living Illegally in New Bedford Pleads Guilty

Authorities were first alerted to his presence in the U.S. after he was arrested in August 2023 for operating under the influence of liquor and driving with a suspended license. He had previously been deported in December 2019 after he was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona, but some time after that, he unlawfully re-entered the country.