Juan Carlos Font Agüero, 59, was transferred from the United States to the Kingdom of Eswatini after several failed repatriation attempts.
MADRID, Spain.- A Cuban citizen identified as Juan Carlos Font Agüero, 59, remains detained in a prison in the Kingdom of Eswatini, in southern Africa, after the Cuban authorities refused to admit him into the country after his deportation from the United States, as reported this Thursday. Martí News.
According to the media, Font Agüero was transferred from the United States to several countries in recent months, ending up in African territory, after Havana repeatedly rejected his repatriation.
His stepdaughter, Yessica de la Caridad García Negrín, reported that the process was carried out without notification or consular accompaniment, and that during the transfer the man was “blindfolded.”
The report indicates that Font Agüero had resided in the United States since 2003, where he served a 17-year sentence for second-degree murder. After his release, the US authorities began the procedures to deport him to his country of origin, but the Cuban Government alleged that he had lost citizen rights by residing outside the Island for more than two decades.
According to the family, the man suffers from prostate problems and bloody urine, but he would not be receiving adequate medical care in the African prison.
A US government source, cited by Martí Newsassured that Washington tried on several occasions to return the citizen to Cuba, but that Havana refused to receive him, despite the fact that international law establishes that States must accept the return of their own nationals.
The State Department reiterated to the media that “it is not a topic for debate or negotiation. This policy also applies to Cuban citizens,” in reference to the international agreements that regulate this type of process.
So far, Cuban authorities have not offered a public response to the case. Martí News He indicated that he did not obtain comments from the Cuban embassy in South Africa either.
The case of Juan Carlos Font Agüero once again highlights the limitations of the right of return for Cuban citizens who have resided for long periods abroad and the human consequences that can arise from the lack of cooperation between governments on immigration matters.
