Connecticut ICE Operation Nets 65 People, Including 6 Former Felons in Danbury

DANBURY, CT — Federal immigration officers and law enforcement partners apprehended 65 people across Connecticut during a four-day enforcement action earlier this month, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE officials described six of those detained in Danbury as among "the worst of the worst."

The operation, conducted Aug. 12–15 and named "Operation Broken Trust," was led by ICE’s Boston office in coordination with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ICE said 29 of those taken into custody had been convicted of or charged with serious crimes in the United States, including kidnapping, assault, drug trafficking, weapons violations, and sex crimes. Others were identified as members of transnational gangs or had criminal histories in their home countries. Some were the subject of foreign arrest warrants or Interpol notices.

Because Connecticut’s Trust Act restricts cooperation between state and local agencies and federal immigration enforcement, ICE officials said officers were required to conduct more at-large arrests in communities rather than relying on detainer requests at jails.

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The six immigrants detained in Danbury highlighted by ICE were:

• Carlos Ernesto Silvestre-Sanchez, 50, Guatemala — charged in past cases involving sexual assault and breach of peace.
• Jonathan Alessandro Cordero-Morales, 21, Ecuador — record includes assault, breach of peace, violation of a protection order, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
• Edwin Andres Calva-Guaman, 27, Ecuador — convicted of larceny; prior arrests for domestic violence, third-degree assault, and breach of peace.
• Alexander Alberto Guerra-Avila, 24, Venezuela — prior arrests for stalking, assault, disorderly conduct, and injury to a child.
• Ruben Antonio Fuentes, 35, El Salvador — convicted of drug offenses, harassment, carrying a prohibited weapon, cruelty toward a child, and obscene communication.
• Efren Mauricio Guallpa-Shurshanay, 43, Ecuador — convicted of sexual assault in 2008.

ICE officials said all individuals taken into custody during the operation are being held pending removal proceedings or deportation.