Leidys Milanés Maya, a 29-year-old from Camagüey, has been missing for over three months in Mexico, a country to which she was deported from the United States.
His mother, Misleidis Maya Rabí, made an urgent appeal this Monday through the platforms "Cubans in the World" and "NiO Reporting a Crime" for anyone with information regarding her daughter's whereabouts to contact her confidentially.
According to the testimony of her mother shared on social media, Leidys was deported from the United States to Mexico in February 2026.
After several months without communication, the family managed to briefly reconnect, but the last conversation took place on April 2, when the young woman reported that she was heading to Cancun, Quintana Roo.
"Since that moment, the family has not heard any news about his whereabouts, which keeps their loved ones deeply worried," notes the publication "NiO Reporting a Crime."
Since that date until this Tuesday, more than three and a half months have passed without the family receiving any sign of life.
The family requests that anyone in Mexico, especially in Cancun or its surroundings, who knows the whereabouts of Leidys, please contact the platforms disseminating this notice via private message.
"All information will be treated with absolute confidentiality," both organizations assure in their publications.
The search poster includes three photographs of Leidys Milanés Maya at different times and has been widely shared on Facebook and Instagram since Monday.
The Dangerous Limbo of Cubans Deported to Mexico
Leidys' case is not isolated. It is part of a humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of Cubans deported from the United States to Mexico, who find themselves trapped in a no-win situation: Cuba does not accept them back, they cannot return to the U.S., and they lack legal status to reside or work in Mexican territory.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch published on May 27, 2026, titled "They Abandon Us Here to Die," the Trump administration deported nearly 13,000 people to Mexico between January 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026, including 4,353 Cubans, more than any other nationality.
Activists estimate that about 800 Cubans remain stranded in Tapachula, Chiapas, and around 3,000 in Villahermosa, Tabasco, although the total figure could exceed 6,000.
Many of them are trying to move to tourist cities like Cancún in search of informal work, but Quintana Roo lacks specialized shelters for this population, which exacerbates their vulnerability.
The same HRW report documents that deported Cubans are frequent targets of extortion, kidnapping, forced recruitment by cartels, and human trafficking.
Josué Leal, the manager of a shelter in Villahermosa, summed it up harshly: "Migrants are the merchandise of organized crime," because criminal groups know they have relatives in the United States who can send money.
Other Cubans missing in Mexico
Leidys' case is not the first of its kind. In April 2026, Yarissel Díaz Arcia, a 19-year-old Cuban, was reported missing in Tapachula, Chiapas, with an official bulletin from the State Commission for the Search of Persons of that state.
In April 2025, Yasmani Vega López, a 36-year-old Cuban, disappeared in Cancun, becoming one of at least six Cubans missing in Quintana Roo since December 2024.
In May 2026, mothers and grandmothers of six missing Cubans traveled to Chiapas to initiate an in-person search brigade due to the lack of response from the Mexican authorities.
The Cuban Migration Risk Index reached the “extreme” level in April 2026, with a score of 0.80, and recorded eight deaths, three disappearances, and 32 detentions in migration events during that month.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Leidys Milanés Maya can send a private message to the platforms "Cubans in the World" or "NiO Reporting a Crime" on Facebook and Instagram, with the assurance that the information will be handled with complete confidentiality.
Related videos:
Filed under: