Yasmany Moreno de Armas, a 31-year-old Cuban who lived and worked in Florida and claims to have no criminal record, found out he was being deported to Africa only after five hours of flight, when the plane was landing in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR).
"No podemos salir, no tenemos documentos, estamos sufriendo y extrañando a nuestras familias, en un continente que no conocemos," declared Moreno de Armas in a video call to CBS News from the building where he has been held for nearly a month alongside deportees from Ecuador, Honduras, Nepal, Russia, Vietnam, and other countries, none of whom have any connection to the CAR.
In the conversation, when the journalist asked him if he had heard of the Central African Republic before his deportation, he responded with a single word: "Never."
The Trump administration sent Moreno de Armas to that country at the end of July as part of its deportation policy to third countries, a mechanism designed to expel migrants from countries of origin—such as Cuba—that reject or limit direct repatriation flights from the United States.
The immigration history of the Cuban individual, which CBS News accessed, explains why he was sent to a third country instead of being returned to the Island.
He arrived in Florida by raft in September 2016 and was admitted under the “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy, which has since been revoked.
He applied for permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act, but his request was denied because he submitted it after his parole had expired.
Without legal status, he was arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in May 2025 and spent approximately a year in custody before being deported to Africa.
Moreno de Armas also indicated that returning to Cuba would pose a danger for him: documents from the Cuban government confirm that he was imprisoned on the Island for "illegal exit from the national territory" during his first attempt to emigrate.
"If you are going to be deported, it should be to your country of origin, not to another country where you do not know the culture," said Moreno de Armas.
The RCA is one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, with ongoing armed conflict and the presence of Russian mercenaries.
The State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory for that territory in January, the highest level possible, discouraging travel due to widespread insecurity.
The case of Moreno de Armas is not the only one involving Cubans sent to African countries in recent days.
Carlos Rodríguez López, deported under the U.S.-Liberia agreement, ended up detained in a hotel in Equatorial Guinea without documents after being rejected in Monrovia.
Y the mother of Leonardo Sánchez Fernández, 49 years old, reported that her son was hospitalized in Equatorial Guinea after being pushed while descending from the plane, worsening a pre-existing medical condition.
This policy was declared illegal in February 2026 by a federal judge in Massachusetts, as it does not allow for prior notification or the opportunity to challenge the removal, although the ruling has been temporarily suspended while litigation continues.
The U.S. has signed agreements with at least 35 countries and has deported more than 23,000 people to 26 nations under these schemes. The agreement with the CAR, signed in May 2026, included a payment of 85 million dollars.
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