Deported from Honduras and Cuba to Africa, migrants ask to return to U.S. and denounce uncertainty

A Honduran man and several Cuban migrants, deported from the United States to the Central African Republic, are appealing to Florida congress members for assistance in returning to the U.S. They report being stranded in Bangui, the capital, since their unexpected deportation on July 30, lacking proper documentation and fearing for their safety.

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They don't know what to do with us. This is new for them, they have never dealt with Cubans here in Central Africa, they don't know what they are going to do.

Brayan Sánchez, the Honduran deportee, along with Cubans Omar Rodríguez, Arístides Fernández, Yasmany Moreno, and Daniel Lázaro Fuente, and an Ecuadorian named Mauricio Alvarado, are among the group. Moreno described their predicament, stating, "They don't know what to do with us. This is new for them, they have never dealt with Cubans here in Central Africa, they don't know what they are going to do." He added, "We don't know anything, we are wandering around like, I don't know, crazy people without family, without anything, without identity."

The migrants, who were residing in Florida prior to their detention, are communicating using a phone smuggled by Sánchez. They claim there are 36 men deported from the U.S. in their current location, with their group being the only Latinos. Sánchez's wife and the president of the 15th of September Foundation are attempting to meet with Florida legislators, including Representative María Elvira Salazar, Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, and Senator Rick Scott, to advocate for the migrants. The deportees assert that their cases were still pending when they were expelled.

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We don't know anything, we are wandering around like, I don't know, crazy people without family, without anything, without identity.

Sánchez expressed the profound uncertainty they face, noting that neither local nor U.S. authorities have provided information about their fate or the duration of their stay in the Central African Republic. "They told us they will give us 90 days here in the hotel, but that after 90 days, between quotes, they can renew for another 90 days, but it's not certain. Then we would be left out in the open, outside, looking for a place to stay, it's traumatic to think about this whole situation, seeing how dangerous it is here," he recounted. This situation reflects deportation practices initiated under the Trump administration, involving agreements with countries like Rwanda, South Sudan, Eswatini, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Institute of International and Strategic Relations. These efforts intensified after a Supreme Court ruling in June 2025 authorized such expulsions, leading to deportations to unsafe conditions without due process.

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They told us they will give us 90 days here in the hotel, but that after 90 days, between quotes, they can renew for another 90 days, but it's not certain. Then we would be left out in the open, outside, looking for a place to stay, it's traumatic to think about this whole situation, seeing how dangerous it is here.