Cuban Arístides Fernández García, 37 years old, finally arrived in Bolivia and was able to reunite with his family after a long journey that began in the Central African Republic, where he was deported by the United States at the end of July and remained for nearly three months.
The news was confirmed by Yasmany Moreno de Armas, another of the deported Cubans who remains in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, who shared the information in a video posted on social media.
"Thank God, Aristi has already arrived in Bolivia with his sister; he is now with his family," announced Moreno, who supported Fernández García during the difficult months they both spent in Africa.
Arístides had previously communicated that he was at the Bogotá airport in Colombia, from where he planned to take a flight to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, to complete the journey to where his family resides.
His journey began on Monday, October 19, when he managed to leave Bangui after almost three months of uncertainty.
From there, he traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he reported being welcomed by United Nations staff. He then continued to Istanbul, Turkey, before crossing the Atlantic on a flight of approximately 13 hours to Bogotá, which was further delayed by several hours during the journey.
Noticias Telemundo reported that he was able to leave the Central African Republic with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
From an arrest in Miami to deportation to Africa
Fernández García was arrested by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 6, 2026, after attending a deportation hearing in Miami.
According to his testimony, he had a pending asylum application and a valid work permit until 2030 when he was arrested.
During the following months, he was transferred to several U.S. detention centers, including one known as Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, where he claimed to have stayed for 96 days. He also recounted that he lost about 27 kilograms while in immigration custody.
At the end of July, he was sent to the Central African Republic, a country with which he had no family or migration ties.
In Bangui, he reported that he was without documents, facing difficulties in leaving the place where he was staying and lacking clear information about his legal status.
In an interview granted to Noticias Telemundo in August, he described his situation as a sort of kidnapping.
"It's like a kidnapping. I still have nothing," he stated then.
His problems worsened in recent weeks when Yasmany Moreno shared videos showing Arístides visibly weakened while waiting for medical attention. Moreno reported that several of the migrants were falling ill with malaria.
When he finally managed to leave Bangui, Arístides expressed his gratitude for the support he received and acknowledged how difficult his experience had been.
"This was a long adventure. I had been imprisoned for seven months, almost three months here in Africa. And everything has been very intense," he expressed in one of the farewell videos.
During his stopover in Ethiopia, he expressed relief at having been able to leave the Central African Republic.
"Everything changes here. This is a quite beautiful city, it looks quite modern, the airport is quite large, and from now on, you can already see that life has started to change a bit," he commented.
Although he was able to reunite with his family in Bolivia, Fernández García left behind other Cubans who remain in Bangui, including Moreno, with whom he shared months of uncertainty and difficulties.
Before leaving, he expressed his concern for those who had not yet found an alternative to leave the African continent.
"I feel sorry for all my friends who are being left behind, but I know that they will also be able to solve their problems too, God willing," he stated.
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