Yasmany Moreno and Arístides Fernández García, the two Cubans deported by the United States to the Central African Republic, announced in videos posted on Instagram some encouraging news: the judges have reopened their cases, and their lawyers have communicated positive prospects for their legal situation.
The news comes weeks after both started to document their situation from Bangui, the capital of one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, where they ended up as part of the deportation scheme to third countries promoted by the Trump administration.
A spark of hope from Bangui
In the most recent video, Moreno appeared alongside Fernández García to share the update.
“The judges opened our cases and the lawyers have given us good news thanks to you for sharing these videos that have gone very far,” declared Moreno, visibly emotional.
The 31-year-old Cuban attributed the turn of events directly to the pressure generated by the widespread dissemination of his posts on social media, which he says have turned his case into “a very big scandal.”
“They are reassessing our cases and trying not to repeat these mistakes so that no one else is sent here. That is all we want,” added Moreno, emphasizing that their goal is not only to leave Africa but also to prevent other migrants from facing the same fate.
Fernández García, 37 years old, also spoke: “We are very grateful for all the support you have given us so far. Blessings to all those people who continue to follow us.”
The power of networks as a legal tool
Both Cubans insisted that public visibility has been the driving force behind legal progress.
“Keep sharing so that people no longer see this country, gentlemen. Keep sharing so that this continues to gain more strength than it already has,” Moreno requested at the end of the video.
In other recent posts, Moreno has shown daily life in the RCA: workers extracting sand from the rivers in canoes all day long, with the border to the Congo visible from the shore.
“This is the border with Congo, Central African Republic with Congo, those are the mountains you can see. Everything on the river side, that is Congo,” he explained while documenting the surroundings.
How they got there
Moreno arrived in Florida by raft in September 2016 under the "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy, which has since been repealed. His application for residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act was denied as it was submitted after the deadline of his parole.
ICE arrested him in May 2025 and deported him to Bangui on August 1, 2026, without informing him of the destination: he found out when the plane was already landing, after five hours of flight.
Fernández García was detained after leaving a immigration hearing in Miami on July 30, 2026, with a work permit valid until 2030 and a pending asylum application.
He was transferred nine times between detention centers before being put on the plane, and he described his deportation as "a kidnapping."
Both claim to have no criminal record in the United States.
A scheme questioned by the judiciary
The deportation policy to third countries was declared illegal by a federal judge in Massachusetts in February 2026, as it does not allow for prior notification or the possibility to contest the transfer, although the ruling was stayed pending the ongoing litigation.
The agreement between the United States and the RCA was signed in May 2026 and included a payment of 85 million dollars. Between October 2025 and June 2026, over 4,000 Cubans received deportation orders just in Florida.
"Keep sharing these videos so that people are no longer deported to these countries. They are far from their families, that's what we ask," concluded Moreno from the riverbank that separates the RCA from the Congo.
El caso de estos cubanos deportados a un tercer país forma parte de un panorama migratorio en constante cambio. Sigue las últimas novedades sobre deportaciones, cortes y procesos legales en nuestra sección de
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