Police operations at the border detect the illegal entry into Brazil of more than 40 Cuban immigrants, including children

Police operations conducted in the past week detected the illegal entry of over 40 Cubans, including seven children, through various points along the border between Brazil and Guyana, in the state of Roraima, and resulted in the arrest of two men suspected of promoting irregular migration.

Two separate incidents, recorded on May 12 and 16 in different municipalities in northern Roraima, highlight the ongoing activity of human trafficking networks in that border corridor and the increasing flow of Cuban immigrants into the South American country in search of better life opportunities.

On Tuesday the 12th, during a patrol by the Military Police of Roraima (PMRR) along the banks of the Tacutu River in the municipality of Bonfim, the agents discovered a vehicle parked near the so-called "Porto do Mateus." While searching in the wooded area, they heard voices and found 31 individuals of Cuban nationality.

The group consisting of 14 men, 12 women, and five children is said to have crossed the river by canoe from Guyana.

Authorities arrested a man as a suspect of promoting illegal immigration in the border area. The 31 migrants from Cuba were transferred to the Federal Police monitoring station in Bonfim, while the detainee, the vehicle, and the seized materials were presented to the Regional Superintendent of the Federal Police in Boa Vista.

The second operation took place four days later, last Saturday night, when agents from the Military Police intercepted a vehicle on the BR-401 highway, in the municipality of Cantá, in an area known for cross-border crimes such as smuggling and the illegal transportation of people.

Upon asking the driver to lower the rear windows, the agents discovered that the car lacked back seats, but in this were traveling 10 Cubans—eight adults and two children aged two and four— haphazardly crowded together with their luggage.

The 27-year-old driver told the police that he had picked up the passengers in Lethem, Guyana, and that he charged 50 dollars for transporting each person. He was detained, and the case was recorded as promoting illegal migration, with an aggravating circumstance for subjecting the victims to inhuman or degrading conditions.

Operations in the northern border region of Brazil have intensified throughout 2026. In February, the Civil Police launched "Operação Malecón" against a network that recruited Cubans on the island and smuggled them across the border with Guyana. In April, three family members were arrested for transporting 20 Cubans from that country by road.

The most commonly used route begins in Cuba and goes to Guyana—the only country in the region that does not require a visa for Cubans—then continues with a land or river crossing to Roraima and ends with distribution to southern Brazil.

The migration flow from Cuba to Brazil surged in 2025, when asylum requests exceeded 41,900, an increase of 88% compared to 2024, making Cubans the leading nationality requesting asylum in the country, surpassing Venezuelans.

This increase is due to the economic collapse in Cuba and the closure of the northern route to the United States. Over 14 years, from 2010 to 2024, Brazil received a total of 52,373 Cuban applications, but that number was nearly matched between January and September of 2025 alone.