A Dominican man residing in Methuen has been sentenced to two years in prison for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. Santos Guzman, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper and will face three years of supervised release following his imprisonment. Deportation proceedings are expected to follow upon completion of his sentence.
Guzman had previously pleaded guilty in November 2024 after being indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021. A citizen of the Dominican Republic, Guzman's initial entry into the United States occurred at an unspecified time and location. He was convicted of two state drug trafficking crimes in 2019 and subsequently ordered removed from the country in November of that year. He was deported on January 7, 2020.
At some point afterward, Guzman returned to the United States without authorization and was arrested again in November 2021 on a state drug trafficking charge. Authorities confirmed his identity through fingerprint comparison between documents from his removal and his arrest.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director for Boston's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Methuen Police Chief Scott J. McNamara. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.