ICE arrests four Cubans with severe criminal convictions in New Orleans

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Orleans announced last week the arrests of four Cuban citizens with criminal convictions for serious offenses, which include rape, robbery, assault, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and fraud.

Humberto Vargas López, Yulio Cervino Hernández, Yendry Morales, and Jesús Acuña were arrested in recent immigration control operations in the city of Louisiana, authorities from ICE reported on the social media platform X.

Vargas has an extensive criminal record, with convictions in Las Vegas, Nevada, for aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, drug offenses, and obstruction of justice.

Cervino's extensive criminal record includes drug trafficking, aggravated assault, three charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), violation of a restraining order, shoplifting, and possession of a controlled substance.

Morales received a 30-month prison sentence for human smuggling, while Acuña has a criminal record for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and fraud in immigration documents, ICE revealed in the middle of the previous week.

The four detained Cubans remain in ICE custody until the deportation proceedings are completed, the agency stated.

Their arrests are part of the immigration strategy of President Donald Trump's administration, which has intensified in recent weeks the operations to control immigrants and mass deportations, primarily targeting foreigners with criminal records and irregular status.

In recent raids carried out by ICE and other agencies in cities across several states, Cubans with multiple criminal records have also been apprehended.

In Los Angeles, Elkis Lázaro Hermida, convicted of committing lascivious acts with a minor; and in Miami, Roberto Mosquera Del Peral, whose record includes homicide, aggravated assault against a police officer with a weapon and aggravated assault causing bodily injury or disability.

Daniel Delgado Lorenzo was captured in the Florida Keys, with a criminal record that includes aggravated assault with a weapon, elder abuse, fights, burglary, drug possession, and resisting arrest, among others. During a traffic stop in Miami-Dade, police arrested Ángel Rodríguez, accused of being part of the Latin Kings gang.

The arrests occur at a time of great tension regarding immigration in the U.S. While some sectors of American society applaud strict measures against immigrants, other segments of the population, including human rights activists, lawmakers, and legal experts, insist that fair processes must be ensured that respect the civil rights of the detainees, even in cases with serious criminal backgrounds.

However, the authorities are not only targeting immigrants with convictions and pending legal issues, but they are also stalking and detaining undocumented individuals who attend immigration appointments to regularize their status in the U.S.

This new strategy implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aims to apply expedited deportation procedures to those who have entered the country in the last two years.

In total, 42,084 Cubans have deportation orders in the U.S., but the regime in Havana refuses to accept them.

The U.S. government has reiterated that it will deport immigrants to third countries if they are not admitted to their countries of origin, such as Cuba. In May, two Cubans with extensive criminal records were deported to South Sudan.

Frequently asked questions about the arrests of Cubans by ICE in New Orleans