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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported this Thursday the arrest of Cuban citizen Bárbaro Grass-Vásquez, who has a criminal history for sexual offenses and a final deportation order that has been in effect since 2020.
According to the federal agency on X, the detainee had been convicted in the state of Nevada on four counts of sexual assault, offenses that carried a life sentence.
However, he was subsequently released on parole by the Corrections Department of that state.
"Four counts of sexual assault resulted in a life sentence in Nevada for the illegal Cuban immigrant and criminal Bárbaro Grass-Vásquez, but he was released on parole shortly after... Now, thanks to ICE agents, he is no longer on the streets," the agency stated.
ICE emphasized that the individual has a final order of removal issued in 2020, thus he will be deported as part of the current immigration enforcement operations.
The arrest occurs in a context of tightening immigration policies in the United States, where authorities have intensified actions against irregular immigrants, particularly those with criminal records.
In recent weeks, the agency has reported several arrests of Cuban citizens with serious criminal records.
On Wednesday, Ramón Enrique Oliva Lao was arrested in New Orleans, accumulating multiple charges: theft, evasion of arrest on two occasions, endangerment of minors, reckless conduct, credit card fraud, identity theft, and computer fraud.
Another relevant case occurred in Boston, where José Adalberto Miranda Espino, who had a final deportation order since 2001, was arrested.
The Cuban had a record for second-degree murder and possession of burglary tools, which reinforces the profile of individuals being prioritized in these operations.
In Detroit, immigration authorities captured Aliosky Rosales Michelena, a Cuban with a history that includes murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault against an elderly person.
In that same operation, Rafael Cortina Pantoja was arrested, convicted of multiple violent crimes, including armed kidnapping, robbery with violence, and burglary. He was placed in a detention center in the Everglades awaiting his deportation.
These actions are part of a broader strategy driven by the administration of President Donald Trump, which has strengthened joint operations between federal agencies and local law enforcement to locate, apprehend, and deport immigrants without legal status, particularly those with criminal records.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), about 70% of immigrants arrested during these operations are convicted criminals or facing criminal charges.
Nevertheless, human rights organizations have questioned these figures and reported that there are also arrests of individuals with no criminal record, many of whom have lived in the country for years.
In the specific case of Cuban citizens, the number of deportations has significantly increased in recent months. Between January 2025 and February 19, 2026, the United States deported 1,784 Cubans on flights organized by ICE.
In one of the most recent operations, carried out on February 9, 2026, 170 Cubans were repatriated on a single flight, including at least 50 who had been sentenced for serious crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, and drug trafficking.
This fact marked a significant change, as for years the Cuban government refused to accept the return of citizens with criminal records who had emigrated before 2017.
With this shift, deportation flights to the island have reached record numbers. According to data gathered by the site Café Fuerte, more than 5,000 Cubans have been expelled during Trump's administration, marking the highest level recorded.
Currently, more than 42,000 Cuban citizens with final deportation orders remain in the United States, according to official figures from DHS, indicating that detention and expulsion operations are expected to continue in the coming months.
The detention of Bárbaro Grass-Vásquez is part of a series of recent actions that highlight the tightening of immigration policy and a prioritization of individuals with criminal records, amidst a backdrop of increasing pressure on irregular immigration in the country.
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