Marcos Javier Ramos Estrada, a 29-year-old Cuban who was deported from the United States after spending several months in an immigration detention center, is trying to rebuild his life in Havana with a repair and IT support workshop where currently two other young individuals who were also returned to the island are working.
The business operates in the Cerro municipality and offers technical services to small businesses. Behind this initiative lies a story of emigration that began with the sale of a family home and ended with a return to Cuba without a house, without savings, and with the need to start over.
His experience was captured in an interview published by CubaNet, where the young man describes the difficulties of his journey to the United States, his detention, and the process of economic recovery following his deportation.
Before emigrating, Marcos lived in the Diez de Octubre municipality. In 2024, he decided to sell the apartment he had inherited from his grandparents to finance the journey. He also parted with his motorcycle, work tools, music equipment, and other belongings.
According to his account, he gathered around $12,000 to embark on a migration route that took him through several countries in Central America and Mexico. Throughout the journey, he faced precarious living conditions, unexpected expenses, and situations of extortion.
In Tapachula, Mexico, he spent nearly two months waiting for a document that would allow him to continue his journey. When he finally arrived in the United States, his intention was to settle there permanently.
However, after applying for immigration protection, he remained detained in Texas for several months. According to his testimony, a judge ordered his expulsion, and he was sent back to Cuba.
The return left him in a very different situation from the one in which he had left Havana: the house was sold, his savings were gone, and he no longer had the tools with which he had previously earned a living.
During his first weeks back, he stayed at a relative's house. The need to earn income drove him to resume his work as a computer technician, initially using borrowed equipment and offering repairs at home.
From home repairs to a workshop of its own
Marcos began by addressing IT issues for cafes and small private businesses, particularly problems with networks, inventory systems, and equipment used for recording sales.
His strategy, as he explained, involved providing quick and affordable solutions to merchants who needed to keep their equipment running. To cut costs, he walked long distances and reused components salvaged from broken devices.
With the income earned and the recommendations from their first clients, they managed to rent a space in Cerro and establish their technical support workshop there.
The initiative also allowed him to include two young people who had been deported from the United States and who, like him, faced the challenge of finding a source of income after returning to the island.
In the interview, Marcos explained that he decided to offer them work because he recognized in their circumstances the struggles he had faced himself.
For the young person, the workshop represents both a way to regain some stability and an opportunity to help others who returned without resources.
Other Cubans have also tried to rebuild their lives after returning
The case has a recent precedent in the story of Liexer De La Cruz, a Cuban who returned to Havana from the United States and resumed his work as a taxi driver using a tricycle powered by solar energy.
De La Cruz had worked as an electrician in the United States, but he ended up returning to Cuba with his wife after facing difficulties related to his immigration status. Once on the island, he returned to an activity he was familiar with before emigrating.
Her experience also highlighted the economic obstacles of returning: power outages, water shortages, and the high cost of food complicated her daily life and sometimes prevented her from working.
Another story is that of a Cuban woman who shared how she had to start from scratch after being deported, in a testimony where she recounted her efforts to move forward through work and the economic challenges she faced upon her return.
Each deportation story is unique, shaped by personal circumstances, losses, and individual challenges. However, experiences like these demonstrate that, even after returning to Cuba without the resources they left with, some Cubans manage to rebuild their lives, regain their economic independence, and find new opportunities.
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