Additional Coverage:
A Cuban man who was deported from the United States to the Central African Republic has described his situation as a “nightmare,” saying he feels “kidnapped.”
Yasmany Moreno de Armas, 32, had lived in the U.S. for ten years under a policy that allowed Cubans arriving on American soil to remain and seek legal residency. Despite his efforts to obtain asylum and other legal protections, his applications were denied. After being detained last May, Moreno de Armas was held in various federal detention centers across the country.
He was eventually transferred from a facility in Louisiana and, expecting another move within the U.S., learned mid-flight that he was instead being deported to the Central African Republic-a country currently deemed extremely dangerous for Americans due to ongoing armed conflict, violent crime, and terrorism threats.
The practice of deporting immigrants to “third countries,” where they have no citizenship or established ties, has increased under the Trump administration, with approximately 25,000 people sent to such nations, according to the immigrant rights group Human Rights First.
Moreno de Armas expressed deep concern over his forced relocation to a country at war for decades and where even American citizens are barred from entry. Another Cuban deportee, Aristides Fernandez Garcia, echoed these fears, stating, “We’re prisoners here… I feel kidnapped,” and lamenting the violation of their human rights.
The Department of Homeland Security responded by asserting that those deported were sent to safe countries and that the agency is enforcing existing laws.
Data from Refugees International indicates that during the Trump administration’s second term, nearly 20,000 individuals without Mexican heritage were deported to Mexico, one of several primary “third countries” used for such removals, alongside Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Uzbekistan, and Ghana.