A couple from Cuba detailed in a video posted on Facebook how much they spent to travel from Santiago de Cuba to Macapá in northern Brazil, a route that cost them $2,130 per person and which they completed in less than a week.
The testimony, shared by the user Isac Dayanet, describes step by step the costs of a migration route that crosses Suriname and reaches the Brazilian state of Amapá, and has become a reference for thousands of Cubans evaluating the same journey.
"There are people who have charged them for the complete package, but for us, in our case, we paid separately. To the same people, but everything separately," explains the migrant in the recording.
The first leg —the flight from Santiago de Cuba to Suriname— was the most expensive: $1,480 per person, paid in cash upon arrival in the South American country, which does not require a visa for Cuban citizens.
Once in Suriname, the couple spent one night in a house and then set off on the journey to Macapá. This second leg cost $650 dollars and included transportation by car, boat, and bus.
"Upon arriving in Suriname, we stayed for a day and a night in a house, and then we made our way to Macapá. That journey cost about 650 dollars. There we took a vehicle that transported us, including a boat, a bus, and all of that was included in those 650 dollars," he recounts.
In Macapá, they stayed for two days; accommodation and food were included in the price of the trip. The migrants also note that there was an option to pay a higher fee to shorten the travel time: "We had the option to pay a little more and could arrive in less than a week."
The Cuba-Suriname-Amapá corridor is a documented variant of the Cuban exodus to Brazil. The Brazilian Federal Police have investigated networks that charge fees significantly higher than local market rates: according to reports from G1/Globo, the Oiapoque-Macapá segment alone can cost a Cuban the equivalent of four times what a Brazilian pays for the same journey.
The testimony of this Cuban comes at a time when the Cuban exodus to Brazil has reached historic levels. In 2025, Cubans surpassed Venezuelans for the first time as the leading nationality applying for asylum in the country, with 41,919 applications, an increase of 88.1% compared to the previous year.
In the first quarter of 2026, 13,414 new Cuban asylum applications were recorded, accounting for 58% of the national total during that period, according to data from the Observatory of International Migrations of Brazil.
The economic crisis, power outages, food shortages, and political repression are the factors that drive thousands of Cubans to incur costs of over two thousand dollars—and face significant risks—to reach Brazilian territory, where the asylum application process is relatively accessible.
"If you are Cuban living in Brazil, let us know in the comments about your journey. More expensive, more affordable," concludes Dayanet in the video, which has garnered over 30,000 views in just a few days.
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