Last week the United States resumed deportations to Cuba irregular immigrantsand included on that flight those convicted of serious federal crimes such as murder, rape and drug trafficking.
According to a publication on his profile on United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) highlighted yesterday that on February 9, the Cuban Government received a group of 170 undocumented immigrants.
ICE DEPORTED 170 CUBAN CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS TO CUBA FEB. 9.
A plane full of sports from Cuba headed home to the Caribbean Feb. 9 on the first ICE Air flight destined for the Republic of Cuba in 2026.
Although deportation flights to Cuba have existed for some time, the…
— US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) February 18, 2026
The organization highlights that it was the first deportation flight carried out this year.
In its publication, ICE acknowledges that these types of operations have been carried out for years, but draws attention to Cuba’s usual position, which “was reluctant to accept mass deportation flights from the United States.”
For the agency, these deportations have reached record numbers under the presidency of Donald Trump, the publication highlights.
News between the two shores
Although ICE recognizes that these types of flights have been carried out in the past, it now highlights the inclusion in the group of Cuban citizens considered “very dangerous” by the US authorities, a possibility that Cuba had repeatedly rejected.
The publication highlights cases such as those of Yondeivis Wong Den-Hernandez, guilty of second-degree murder committed in the state of Florida, or Raúl Duquenzne-Batista, accused of belonging to the Los Habaneros gang, and convicted of aggravated assault, rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated injuries, aggravated robbery and criminal use of weapons.
No problems in Havana
The arrival of flights from the United States with deported Cuban immigrants has been regularly reported by the island’s media, without placing too much emphasis on the number of returned people and their profiles.
This time the official note offered details about the composition of the group, which included 153 men and 17 women.
The US returns 170 migrants to Cuba and sends new humanitarian aid to the island
It only clarified that three of these people had been made available to the investigative bodies, as they were considered presumed responsible for criminal acts committed before illegally leaving the country.
According to official figures released by the Ministry of the Interior (Minint)Last year, Cuba received 1,669 irregular migrants from the United States and other nations in the region.
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.
Cuba and the United States currently maintain a bilateral agreement so that all migrants who arrive by sea to US territory are deported back to the island.
