MADRID, Spain.- A total of 170 Cuban migrants in an irregular situation were deported from the United States and arrived in Havana this Monday, February 9, on the first return flight of 2026 between both countries.
The aircraft landed at the José Martí International Airport, according to the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in an official note cited by Cubadebate. According to the report, the group was made up of 153 men and 17 women.
The Cuban authorities indicated that three of the returned people were transferred to the investigation body for alleged criminal acts committed before leaving the national territory. No additional details were offered about the nature of these processes or the current legal situation of those involved.
With this return, the total number of Cubans returned by the Trump administration during its second term rises to 1,668, according to DHS data cited by Strong Coffee.
The flight is part of the bilateral immigration agreements in force between Havana and Washington, which contemplate the return of Cuban citizens considered inadmissible or subject to expulsion orders after irregularly entering US territory.
In recent years, deportation flights between both countries have experienced interruptions and resumptions depending on the political and immigration context. These operations were suspended in 2020 and resumed in April 2023, mainly for people detained at the southern border of the United States.
For its part, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) has reported on different occasions about the detention of Cuban citizens with criminal records in several states of the North American country. Some of these arrests included charges such as homicide, drug trafficking and assault on law enforcement officers.
The new flight confirms the continuity of returns in 2026 and occurs in a context of tightening immigration policies and a persistent economic crisis on the Island, factors that have influenced the sustained flow of Cuban migrants abroad.
