The US Government made the first return of irregular migrants to Cuba in 2026, which was followed by the arrival of a new shipment of humanitarian aid to the island.
On this first flight of the year, which arrived last Monday at Havana’s international airport, the Trump Administration returned a total of 170 Cubans “in compliance with bilateral immigration agreements,” reported the Ministry of the Interior (Minint).
The group was made up of 153 men and 17 women, and three of the returned irregular migrants “were transferred to the investigation body for being alleged perpetrators of criminal acts before leaving the country,” according to the official statement.
This Monday, February 9, the return to #Cuba of 170 irregular migrants from the US. Three were transferred to the investigation body for being alleged perpetrators of criminal acts before leaving the country. pic.twitter.com/F1WdO3mq2W
— MININT_CUBA (@minint_cuba) February 10, 2026
As usual, the Cuban authorities emphasized their commitment to regular, safe and orderly migration, while reiterating the danger and life-threatening conditions that illegal departures from the country represent.
The island has been experiencing a serious economic crisis for several years, derived from the impact of the pandemic, US sanctions and internal difficulties and failed policies, which has generated an unprecedented migratory exodus.
Between Cuba and the US
Cuba received 1,669 irregular migrants from the United States and other nations in the region in 2025, according to the Minint.
Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement so that all migrants who arrive by sea to US territory are deported back to the island.
On the other hand, the deportation flights that had been suspended since 2020 were resumed at the end of April 2023, mainly for Cubans considered “inadmissible”, after being detained on the border with Mexico.
During the 2025 fiscal period (from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025), a total of 33,056 Cubans arrived in the United States, according to data from that country’s Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP).
The figure represents a drastic drop compared to fiscal year 2024 when 217,615 Cubans arrived, due to the tightening of immigration policies, the agency reports. EFE.
New humanitarian shipment
This Tuesday, a shipment of humanitarian aid from the US arrived at the port of Santiago de Cuba for the victims of Hurricane Melissa.
This is a new donation on behalf of the American people and managed by the Government of Donald Trump, after those previously received last January. The shipment is made up of seven containers with food and hygiene kits, as reported by Caritas.
According to that entity, in charge of distributing aid on the island on behalf of the Catholic Church, “the supplies will have as their final destination the dioceses of Bayamo-Manzanillo, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, where they will be distributed with the usual organization, care and respect for the beneficiaries.”
Previous shipments, arriving both by air and by sea, have also been distributed in eastern Cuba, heavily hit by the hurricane at the end of last October.
Initially, Washington announced aid valued at 3 million dollars, which was expected to benefit some 24,000 victims of the meteorological phenomenon. Nevertheless, Washington recently announced that it will continue to send humanitarian assistance and reported on a new package valued at 6 million dollars.
The Cuban Government, for its part, although it has said that it will not interfere in the arrival and delivery of US aid, has criticized its late arrival – more than two months after Melissa – and has considered its handling by the Trump Administration “hypocritical” in the midst of the oil siege that has worsened the current economic and energy crisis on the island.
