AREQUIPA, Peru – Olga Díaz, an 84-year-old Cuban woman, arrived in the United States last week on a raft. She is now facing possible deportation by U.S. immigration authorities.
According to review UnivisionOlga took on the dangerous journey across the Florida Straits with her daughter Nilda Cordero. Both spent more than a day at sea before reaching American soil, a fact that marked the beginning of other difficulties.
The elderly Cuban woman was released by immigration authorities a day after her arrival. However, her daughter was transferred to the Broward Immigration Detention Center, where she is being held under a deportation order.
After his release, the user from Tik Tok Dayron_Cano_Champions posted a video of Olga with her family in which she looks happy and supported. In the video, which lasts just over a minute, the Cuban says that she is from Guanabacoa and that she arrived by “boat.”
She also appears eating and excited about drinking coffee, a product that is scarce in Cuba and is sold at prices that are unattainable for a retired person. To date, she is staying at the home of her other daughter, Dainay Cordero, located in Florida.
The joy of children/grandchildren for the reunion with their mother/grandmother may turn into a misfortune in the coming weeks, since Olga has a pending deportation order and must appear at the offices of the Immigration Service and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It was a moment of joy to know that my grandmother was okay, but soon that joy turned into concern when we found out about my mother’s arrest,” Michael Hernández said on social media, who is now also worried about Olga’s situation.
Cuba and the United States have a bilateral agreement that stipulates the return of all Cuban migrants who arrive in the United States by sea. After being suspended in December 2020, deportation flights between the two countries resumed in April 2023, following negotiations to address the migration crisis.
Despite repeated warnings from U.S. authorities that those who enter illegally will be deported, the flow of Cuban migrants continues unabated.
This Tuesday, August 27, Cuba received 48 irregular migrants deported on a flight from the United States. This brings the number of citizens returned to the island from various countries so far this year to 1,030.
The Ministry of the Interior (Minint), cited by the official press, The group, made up of 43 men and five women, included seven people who had left the island illegally by sea. Most of these migrants had left Cuba legally, but later joined irregular routes with the aim of reaching the US border.
