The Spanish National Police, in collaboration with Europol and the Serbian Police, dismantled a transnational criminal network dedicated to the trafficking of Cuban migrants to Spain, resulting in eight arrests, including the two leaders of the criminal organization.
The results of the joint police operation were announced this Wednesday by the General Directorate of the Spanish Police in an official statement.
The network, which had been operating since at least 2021 in Spain and in the Balkan country, would have facilitated the clandestine entry of at least 40 Cuban citizens into Spanish territory, charging each of them amounts close to 3,000 euros.
Authorities reported that eight individuals were arrested in the provinces of Málaga (7) and Zamora (1), among them, two leaders of the network, who are charged with crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, facilitating illegal immigration, document forgery, and money laundering.
According to the investigation, the scheme began in Cuba with the sale of a package called "travel bag" that included plane tickets, invitation letters, health insurance, and hotel reservations.
The migrants flew from the island to Belgrade, Serbia, where they were welcomed by members of the organization based in that country. From there, they were transported by land to the border with North Macedonia, then continued to Greece to access the Schengen area, passing through various European countries such as Italy and France before reaching Spain, their final destination.
Authorities indicated that the intention was to settle in this last country and "seek international protection, evading European and Spanish regulations regarding the entry, transit, and residence of foreigners."
In Serbia, the organization had safe houses and facilities lacking minimum conditions for habitability where, according to the National Police, "migrants were cramped and, taking advantage of their situation of need and vulnerability, their freedom of movement was restricted under threats."
Researchers found that, at times, the network abandoned migrants upon their arrival in North Macedonia, where they were "left to fend for themselves, even responsible for minors, in a situation of extreme need, without food, without means of communication, and without basic hygiene conditions."
The Spanish branch, based in Málaga, handled the final leg of the journey and instructed newcomers to report the loss of their original passport, aiming to erase the entry stamps from Serbia so they could request asylum by claiming a recent arrival in the country.
According to the police report, a total of 27 episodes of facilitating illegal immigration through this method have been recorded since 2021, and a total of 2,252 money transfers valued at 380,775 euros were analyzed, sent by the suspects residing in Spain.
To complicate money tracking, the organization diversified its collection methods: transfers to Spanish and foreign accounts, payment applications, and cryptocurrencies.
During the final operation, four home searches were conducted and an inspection was carried out at a hospitality establishment in the province of Málaga, where €9,070 and 7,120 Cuban pesos in cash were seized, along with two imitation firearms, two mobile phones, 24 bank cards, and multiple documents. Additionally, 28 bank accounts were frozen and seized.
The arrests were carried out in Torremolinos (6), Alhaurín de la Torre (1), and Zamora (1), the police specified, and warned that "the investigation is still ongoing and further arrests are not ruled out."
In December 2024, a joint European operation dismantled a similar network but on a larger scale, resulting in the arrest of 36 members of the organization across several Spanish provinces. The traffickers charged up to 10,000 euros per person and managed the irregular entry of at least 67 Cuban migrants.
The Balkan route became a common corridor for Cubans because Serbia allowed entry without a visa for many years, making it easier to access the Schengen area via North Macedonia and Greece.
Spain is the primary destination for Cuban emigration in Europe, with 223,532 Cubans residing there as of January 2024. However, political asylum grants to Cubans are minimal, despite thousands of annual applications. In that same year, the Spanish government granted only 25 recognitions, while from January to August 2025, it granted political asylum to just 36 Cubans, according to official statistics released until September.
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