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The story of Josué Rodríguez Pérez, a Cuban who has spent over three decades in the United States and is believed to have connections with the Puentes de Amor project, took a turn a few months ago. After spending time in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), he was expelled to Mexico, a country where he has no ties, no family, or a clear future.
Today, he lives in Cancun alongside other deported Cubans, trying to adapt while carrying the deepest fear of not being able to say goodbye to his brother, who is suffering from terminal cancer in Florida, reported Wyofile, whose story was reproduced by the media Oilcity.news.
Rodríguez had rebuilt his life in the U.S. after a period marked by loss, addictions, and a conviction for fraud that cost him his residency.
After serving his sentence in 2012, he studied, worked, invested in his own truck, paid taxes, and started a new family. For eight years, he maintained a valid work permit and a stable life in Florida.
Everything fell apart last July when he went for a routine appointment to renew his work permit. ICE detained him without prior notice and began an odyssey of transfers between detention centers in Florida, Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming.
He spent 40 days in the Natrona County jail, where, as he stated, he experienced extreme isolation that led him to consider a hunger strike. He never saw a judge, never received clarity about his future, and ultimately signed a deportation agreement out of fear of spending several more months behind bars.
In September, they put him on a bus headed to El Paso and, escorted by agents, he was handed over to Mexico. He arrived without a passport, without identification, and with only a document that allowed him to stay in the country for ten days.
Since then, he tries to survive in a foreign city, facing exorbitant prices, scams, and the constant uncertainty about his immigration status. His truck, the only asset he had in the United States, was seized by the bank.
His wife was able to visit him for just a few days; returning to live in Mexico is not a realistic option for her. His daughters remained in Florida.
But the hardest blow is the health of his brother, who is suffering from an aggressive cancer that has spread rapidly. “Every day I feel sad; I find it hard to think,” Rodríguez confessed. “I’m afraid I will never see him alive again.”
While adapting to the uncertainty in Cancun, he finds comfort in the solidarity of other Cubans in the same situation. They cook together, support each other, and look after one another. But that doesn’t erase the feeling of uprootedness.
"We worked, paid taxes, helped. We were doing well," he remembers. The hope, he says, is that a future president will reverse these policies and allow him to one day reunite with his loved ones.
On social media, his case was also brought to light by influencer Alexander Otaola, who claimed that Rodríguez was a supporter of the Bridges of Love project and a sympathizer of Carlos Lazo, and publicly celebrated his detention.
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