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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested three Cubans with significant criminal records, including sexual offenses against minors, armed assault, and robbery, during operations carried out in recent days.
Roberto Valdés Catalán, an undocumented immigrant from Cuba, was identified as one of "the worst criminals arrested by ICE" during National Police Week in the United States, according to an official statement released this Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Valdés Catalán has been convicted of the serious crime of inciting minors for indecent purposes in Davidson County, Tennessee, and for domestic violence in Austin, Texas.
Also arrested this Monday was Jorge Luis Fuentes, convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in Boston, Massachusetts.
Another Cuban, Juan González Paz, was arrested during the Mother's Day weekend for convictions of grand theft and possession of burglary tools in Miami, Florida, according to the DHS.
The acting assistant secretary of the DHS, Lauren Bis, emphasized the profile of those detained: "During this Police Week, we highlight some of the worst criminals arrested by ICE. Every day, our agents risk their lives to apprehend murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists, and remove them from American communities."
The arrests from last week add to the successive detentions of Cuban immigrants so far in 2026. On May 4th, ICE detained Eduardo Pérez Legrá in Newport News, Virginia, who had four previous convictions for drug trafficking and two for possession of cocaine. At the time of his arrest, authorities found him in possession of cocaine, oxycodone, fentanyl, and Suboxone.
ICE San Diego also arrested two Cubans with serious criminal records in California: René Wilson, who has a history of failing to register as a sex offender, indecent exposure, drug trafficking, and voyeurism; and Manuel de Armas, with a record for vehicle manipulation, possession and sale of controlled substances, and making threats with the intent to terrorize.
The arrests of Cubans have intensified during the second presidential term of Donald Trump. According to a report from the Cato Institute, based on official data from the federal government, arrests
Cubans who have been convicted or accused of serious crimes are considered a priority for deportation under the current ICE guidelines, in a context where the Trump administration has reported increased cooperation with Havana to carry out repatriation flights that include citizens with criminal records, which have historically been difficult to achieve.
For decades, the regime on the island systematically refused to accept these individuals, rejecting their inclusion in the lists of deportables presented to it by the Department of State, under the framework of bilateral migration agreements.
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