A 26-year-old Cuban who arrived in the United States when she was just 11 and was a permanent resident of the country has been deported to Mexico after being held in immigration custody, according to reported journalist Javier Díaz.
The young woman, identified by her initials D. U. H., is the mother of two girls and had lived practically her entire adolescence and adult life in the United States. Before her deportation, she had faced several legal proceedings in Florida, including an arrest in 2023 where she was charged with attempted murder and arson.
According to Telemundo 51, in July of that year, the young woman was arrested after two incidents reported at gas stations in Florida City.
According to the authorities cited by the media, the accused allegedly used the remaining fuel from the dispensers to start fires while there were customers and employees in the establishments.
"What she does is come and empty the pump of whatever gasoline is left and then she throws a match, setting it on fire. Yesterday afternoon there was a woman pouring gasoline, she threw a match, we ran over and threw her out of here," recounted the manager of one of the gas stations.
The Prosecutor's Office filed two charges of attempted murder during the commission of a serious crime against the Cuban national, along with first-degree arson charges, as reported by local media at the time. Following her arrest, she was transported without bail rights to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The consulted records also show that she encountered legal issues again in 2025. In February of that year, she was arrested in Monroe County for an alleged violation of probation and a charge of battery. In July, there was another arrest for failure to appear in court, and in August, a detention related to a warrant from another county.
The existence of a probation indicates that it was under judicial supervision, although the available documentation does not establish that this measure was related to the 2023 process concerning the incidents at the gas stations.
It has not been possible to ascertain from the consulted documentation what the final resolution of that process was, nor to establish that the charges presented at that time were the specific cause of his subsequent deportation.
After going through several immigration detention centers, D. U. H. was finally expelled from the United States. Her destination was not Cuba, but Mexico.
Díaz explained that U.S. authorities faced difficulties in sending her back to the island due to her background. The deportation also has family consequences. Her two daughters remain in the United States in the care of their grandmother, according to the report.
The young woman's mother told Díaz that her daughter suffers from schizophrenia and drug addiction issues, and she believed that these circumstances should have been taken into account to give her another chance.
The case arises amid the increasing use of Mexico as a destination for Cuban citizens expelled by the United States.
Between January 2025 and March 2026, the United States deported 4,353 Cubans to Mexico, according to data collected by Human Rights Watch. The Cubans made up the largest group among nearly 13,000 citizens from third countries sent to Mexican territory during that period.
The organization documented that some of these migrants found themselves in a migratory limbo, facing difficulties obtaining documents, working legally, and rebuilding their lives.
"In some years, they did not deport people with criminal records; now, these deportations are actually happening, and that is what we are seeing day after day," affirmed Díaz.
For D. U. H., deportation now means being in a country different from both Cuba, where he was born, and the United States, where he has lived since he was 11, while his two daughters remain in U.S. territory.
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