A group of between ten and fifteen people was recorded on video while boarding from Dayanigua Beach, in the southern part of the municipality of Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, during an irregular departure that took place on Friday afternoon and was widely shared on social media.
The material was published on Instagram by the Cuban actor and producer Tony Cortés, who labeled it as "urgent."
“Here is the video, coming from an escape from Cuba in the south of Pinar del Río / Los Palacios, Playa Dayanigua yesterday afternoon; the boats are coming from Cancún, and it is speculated that this is an organized crime business. All I ask is that God protects them at sea,” wrote Cortés.
The images show people standing on a concrete dock that extends over the water, with a motorboat in the background and several wooden boats tied to the side, along the coast of the Gulf of Batabanó.
In the video, several Cubans throw their backpacks and then leap in themselves, attempting to reach the boat, while receiving shouts of joy and support from some witnesses.
In the comments, users identified the vessel as "a 28-30 foot panga," and pointed out Mexico as the destination: "This panga is headed to Cancun."
One was more specific: “They are left in Punta Nizuc at night”, referring to an area at the southern tip of the hotel zone in Cancún, Quintana Roo, documented as a point of arrival for Cuban migrants.
Several internet users claimed to recognize the boat from previous posts.
“That boat has completed a bunch of trips because I’ve seen it in several videos,” wrote a commenter, suggesting that this is not an isolated operation.
The concern for the lives on board
The safety of those shown in the images garnered most of the reactions.
“That boat looks very dangerous. May God protect them and help them arrive safely,” wrote a user.
Desperation as the driving force behind these journeys was also mentioned: "No one gets on there for fun," pointed out one person; while another summed up: "Desperation is the cause of the risks."
The publication also sparked a debate about the appropriateness of sharing such images.
"But how can they expose themselves like that?" questioned one user, while another referred to the video as "an online snitch."
However, that stance received a response: "You see it as snitching; others see it as perhaps preventing a tragedy," replied an internet user.
A route that takes lives in Pinar del Río
The episode adds to a series of documented departures from western Cuba in 2026.
In early September, about twenty people departed in a speedboat from Dimas, in the municipality of Mantua, also in Pinar del Río, heading to Cancun.
In August, two young men drowned in Sandino —Leodannis Sánchez, 17 years old, and Osmaikel, 19— when a boat with a malfunctioning engine was attempting to reach Cancun.
That same month, the Mexican Navy located a vessel with 19 Cubans —including seven minors— that had departed from Pinar del Río and had been missing for several days; the official rescue involved 16 individuals.
The use of pangas—fast fiberglass boats—has spread in western Cuba as an alternative route to Florida, in light of the tightening of U.S. immigration policies.
By August 2026, 882 Cubans had been forcibly repatriated from the United States in 31 operations, redirecting migration flows towards routes through Mexico.
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