The detainees face sentences for crimes such as child sexual abuse, kidnapping and assault, ICE reported.
MADRID, Spain.- The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) recently detained three Cuban citizens with criminal records in different parts of the state of Florida, within the framework of immigration control operations directed against foreigners with convictions for serious crimes.
The arrests were made in Cape Coral, Tallahassee and another unspecified point in South Florida, as confirmed by official ICE accounts in X and its Spanish division.
The first of those arrested, Alexander Herrera Acostawas arrested at his home in Cape Coral by ICE Miami agents. The agency called him an “illegal Cuban criminal” with an extensive criminal history, highlighting his conviction for child sexual abuse, described by ICE as “his most heinous crime.”
In another operation, ICE reported the arrest of Joaquín Viamonte Salas, who had a final deportation order from 2024 and a history of sexual assault, assault and theft. The agency noted that the arrest occurred with the collaboration of his mother, who accompanied the detainee “safe and sound” out of his home before he was taken into custody. “When we have the cooperation of the community, we are all safer,” ICE published in Spanish on its official profile.
The third detainee, Erisbel Artiles, was captured in Tallahassee thanks to a joint operation with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, within the framework of the 287(g) program, which allows cooperation between local and federal authorities in immigration matters.
Artiles, 47, has a current deportation order and a record of theft, kidnapping and drug trafficking. According to ICE, he was convicted in a case of hostage-taking during a flight and had been arrested on previous occasions for vehicle theft and illegal deprivation of liberty.
These cases are part of ICE’s strategy to prioritize the arrest and deportation of aliens with significant criminal convictions.
The Cuban government, however, maintains a restrictive policy regarding the repatriation of nationals with criminal records, which complicates or delays deportations. When Havana refuses to receive these people, ICE may choose to transfer them to third countries. Such is the case of Juan Carlos Font Agüero, 59, who 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.
Last August it emerged that three other Cuban citizens with criminal records had been detained as part of the federal operation called “The worst of the worst,” focused on identifying and removing immigrants considered high risk to public safety.
On that occasion Those arrested were Jorge Luis Díaz García, Eduardo Fundora Setién and Eduardo Luis Machín Pozo, all with previous convictions in United States territory.
