Yasmany Moreno de Armas, a Cuban deportee to the Central African Republic (CAR), travels through the detention centers of Bangui to gather fellow nationals and Nicaraguans in one place; while acting as a liaison between the immigrants and their families abroad.
According to videos he posted on Facebook that have garnered thousands of views, Moreno has already obtained authorization from an official to transport Cubans to the center of that organization and is arranging the paperwork for Nicaraguans to join as well.
"We have already spoken with the UN official*, who is going to allow them to come to our center, because we are Latinos, to bring them together. The Cubans have already been authorized to go with us," he states.
The videos have had a direct impact on the families of the deported. Moreno recounts that thanks to the recordings shared on social media, people who had gone up to ten days without any signs of life were able to be located.
"Thanks to you, it was possible yesterday to communicate all the relatives of those young people who had been out of touch. They wrote to me privately, and I was able to connect them with their entire family," says one of the reels published on their profile.
Moreno also warns that the situation will not end soon: according to officials, a new group of deportees is on the way. "Now more people are going to arrive in three days; they are already on the flight," he noted.
"If by chance, God forbid, a relative is sent here, please get in touch with me. Let's communicate privately; I will come, pick them up, and take them to the care center we are at," he said in a direct message to the families of potential deportees.
The situation of the deported individuals in Bangui is critical. One of the three Nicaraguans sent to the CAR at the end of August —the first citizens of that country sent to Africa under this policy— described their reality with a striking phrase: "There is no water, there is nothing, we do not have the conditions."
According to reports from El País, the deportees were handcuffed during the flights, remain confined without freedom of movement, and do not have immigration documents that allow them to be legally in the country.
The UN, through its MINUSCA mission, provides them with food, but it has not resolved their legal situation.
Moreno arrived in Bangui on August 1, 2026, in the second group of 30 deportees sent from the United States to the Central African Republic.
The first group arrived on June 13 with 25 people. Both groups are part of the deportation policy to third countries of the Trump administration, aimed at migrants from countries of origin —such as Cuba and Nicaragua— that do not accept or restrict direct repatriations.
The agreement between Washington and RCA was signed in May 2026 and included a payment of 85 million dollars.
Among the Cubans deported to Bangui are also Arístides Fernández García, who was detained by ICE after leaving a migration hearing in Miami with a work permit valid until 2030 and a pending asylum application, and Daniel Fuentes, a 31-year-old transgender woman who lived in Miami and was arrested by ICE in March 2026.
Moreno summarizes the magnitude of the problem with a warning that goes beyond his personal case: "Anyone can find themselves in this situation, even with documents and no crimes."
At the beginning of September, both Moreno and Fernández García regained some hope upon learning that their cases were reopened by judges with favorable outlooks according to their lawyers, although their situation in Bangui remains unresolved.
Las deportaciones a destinos inusuales como África son parte de un panorama migratorio en constante cambio. Sigue toda la actualidad sobre para estar informado sobre cómo estas políticas afectan a cubanos y latinos.
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