The Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugás harshly criticized the treatment that immigrants receive during deportation operations in the United States and stated that, although expulsions are legal, pursuing and treating people “worse than animals” is not.
Ugás expressed his stance in a post on X this Tuesday, in which he questioned the way actions against immigrants are being carried out.
The boxer also suggested that Latinos receive particularly harsh treatment during these operations.
"If they are Latino, even better," he expressed before assuring that he had never seen anything like it in the United States, a country he also considers his own.
Ugás stated that over the past 10 years he has paid, in his words, millions in taxes in the United States, and he defended the position he has earned through his work.
He also recalled that he earned his money fighting in the ring and described boxing as a profession where he has had to physically confront other men to get ahead.
Despite defining himself as a tough person, he acknowledged that the news about immigration and the cases he knows from various detention centers affect him emotionally: “My heart tightens,” he stated.
The boxer also questioned the actions of agents involved in the migration operations: "Armed men, wearing masks, without any compassion, without any respect for life," he wrote while describing the images he claimed to have seen.
Ugás affirmed that his rejection of these practices is not recent and stated that he has opposed them since last year.
He also responded to those who ask him why he is speaking on the subject now and rejected the idea of providing unconditional support to any political movement.
"I'm not a sheep," he declared.
The athlete stated that he does not give a "blank check to any politician" and recalled that he has never publicly asked others to vote for a specific candidate.
He also emphasized that his political activism has focused for years on denouncing the Cuban regime.
Ugás stated that his message to the Cubans has been to maintain unity against the dictatorship and, as is customary, closed his post with the phrase "God, Homeland, Life, Freedom".
In his recent posts, the Cuban boxer has publicly expressed his opposition to immigration detentions.
In July, for example, he questioned President Donald Trump about the detentions of immigrants and asked, "Where did the pursuit of criminals go?".
On that occasion, he reported the detention of workers and recalled his own experience as a Cuban emigrant after escaping the island on a boat.
But he has also combined those critiques of migration policy with his denunciations of the regime in Havana.
This month, the athlete recently defended lesser-known Cuban political prisoners and explained that he wore the names of several of them on his clothing during his last fight to raise awareness for those who remain imprisoned without gaining public recognition.
Ugás, born in Santiago de Cuba, won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and later reached the pinnacle of professional boxing.
In 2021, he defeated the legendary Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision and retained the super championship title of the World Boxing Association.
The Cuban remains active and returned to the ring in June 2026 after almost three years of inactivity, with a victory by split decision against the Mexican Jesús "Bala" López.
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