The journalist Mario J. Pentón, specialized in Cuban migration issues, recounted an unusual experience he had this Monday at Miami Airport when relatives of some beneficiaries of the humanitarian parole refused, on behalf of the newcomers, to participate in an interview, arguing that those who had just arrived were "communists."
"Our family just arrived, they landed. They are from Santiago de Cuba. The problem is that they are not going to give you an interview because they are communists, they believe in the revolution and socialism," Pentón referred, citing the words of relatives waiting to enter the room of the "communist" emigrants.
Unable to believe what he was hearing, the journalist then asked why they had decided to emigrate from Cuba and did not receive a convincing answer.
The communicator said he felt "powerless" in the face of such an absurd argument and lamented that many people who deserve humanitarian parole and are not "communists" have not been able to realize their dream for the moment.
The post has gone viral in just a few hours on both Facebook and Twitter, where the unique anecdote has accumulated thousands of comments and reactions across both platforms.
"I know a person whose parents passed away on July 18, and the request they made to their daughter before boarding the plane to the United States was 'don't even think about welcoming us at the airport with an American flag or with balloons that have the symbols of that country,'" recounted another Cuban, implying that such a reality might be less unusual than it seems.
Despite the uncertainty following the temporary cancellation of the issuance of new permits after a report uncovered massive fraud involving sponsors, numerous Cubans benefiting from the humanitarian parole program managed to board their flights this Monday bound for the U.S. from various airports on the island.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that some travel permits had been revoked as part of its review of the program and the detection of fraud in thousands of applications, but that the cases are still being processed.
As of the end of June, more than 106,000 Cuban citizens had traveled to the U.S. under this program, according to official figures.
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