Asylum applications from Cubans in Brazil reached a historic record in 2025, exceeding 41,900 annual requests, representing an increase of 88% compared to the approximately 22,300 registered in 2024, according to data from the Flow Monitoring Matrix (DTM) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The figure positions Cubans as the largest nationality requesting asylum in Brazil, surpassing Venezuelans for the first time, and highlights the magnitude of an exodus driven by the economic collapse and political repression of the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel, as noted by elTOQUE.
The contrast with the recent past is striking: between 2010 and 2024, Brazil received a total of 52,373 Cuban applications over 14 years, a number that was nearly matched only between January and September 2025, when 30,731 Cubans applied for asylum on Brazilian territory.
In 2021, only 0.4% of Cuban emigrants chose Brazil as their destination; by 2024, that proportion increased to 9.1%, and the data for 2025 confirms that the flow continues to rise.
Acceleration is driven by two combined factors: the relentless deterioration of living conditions in Cuba—characterized by chronic blackouts, inflation, shortages of food and medicine, and political repression—and the gradual closure of the northern route to United States under the immigration policy of the Trump administration.
The irregular income of Cubans in Honduras dropped from 64,000 in 2024 to just 1,500 in the early months of 2026, redirecting flows towards Latin America, where Brazil emerged as an accessible alternative by not requiring a visa for Cubans and allowing them to apply for asylum at the border.
Cuban migrants arriving in Brazil primarily do so via irregular land routes from the north of the country, first traveling to Guyana, Suriname, or Venezuela and then continuing overland to the border states of Roraima and Amazonas.
One of the most commonly used entry points is Bonfim, in Roraima, on the border with Guyana, where irregular crossings and human trafficking networks have been reported, leading to accidents that have resulted in fatalities, including minors.
Once in Brazilian territory, applicants register on the digital platform Sisconare of the Ministry of Justice and must schedule an appointment with the Federal Police to obtain the refuge protocol, which allows them to work formally, access the public health and education system, and obtain the tax identification number.
However, the process before the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) can extend for more than five years, and effective recognition as a refugee is far from automatic: between January and June 2025, the CONARE approved only two Cuban applications, rejected nine, and archived 10,965 cases, reported Mario Pentón.
The researcher Alexei Padilla Herrera, a migration consultant based in Brazil and a professor at Diáspora Consultoría, warns that seeking asylum is neither the safest nor the quickest way to obtain permanent residency in the South American country.
"The determining factor for receiving asylum is to provide verifiable evidence that one has suffered or could suffer persecution."
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