A Guatemalan national residing in Rhode Island was sentenced in federal court for resisting federal law enforcement officers during an attempted immigration arrest, according to Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Cristian Aroldo Pineda Diaz, 31, received a sentence of time served from U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose. Pineda Diaz had previously pleaded guilty on November 10, 2025, to resisting a lawful arrest by federal officers.
Court documents state that on July 15, 2025, officers from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), along with other federal agents, located Pineda Diaz near College Street and Benefit Street in downtown Providence as they sought to execute an arrest warrant. The documents detail that Pineda Diaz “refused verbal commands, attempted to flee, collided with a federal agent, and resisted efforts to gain control of his limbs, stiffening his body and concealing his arms under his body.”
Assistant United States Attorneys G. Michael Seaman and Julie M. White prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, described as “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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.” The operation brings together resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.