The Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío accused the United States government this Tuesday of encouraging the emigration of Cubans, including through legal means, only to deport them to third countries, separating them from their families and leaving them without means of subsistence.
In a post on Facebook, the official directly blamed the U.S. authorities for the immigration situation of many Cubans and claimed that many of them found themselves in irregular status due to changes in Washington's policies, not because of their own actions.
“The US government, in its deportation campaign, has expelled dozens of Cubans from the country to third countries. Many of them end up on other continents, separated from their families and lacking means of support, in addition to losing their homes, belongings, and way of life,” he wrote.
Fernández de Cossío also denounced that other Cuban migrants are "indefinitely incarcerated without specific charges, leaving them and their respective families in agonizing uncertainty" in the United States.
"They didn't have to tear down a wall or jump over a fence."
The deputy chancellor focused much of his message on questioning the responsibility attributed to migrants for their legal status.
“They are people who, for the most part, entered the U.S. driven by the effects of the U.S. economic war against Cuba, their country of origin, and attracted by immigration policies that invited them to emigrate both legally and illegally,” he stated.
With that statement, Fernández de Cossío once again presented U.S. sanctions as one of the main causes of Cuban emigration, without addressing in his publication the impact of the internal economic policies of the Havana Government.
The official insisted that numerous Cubans arrived in U.S. territory with documentation issued by the country's own authorities.
"Many of them entered the U.S. legally, with official government documents from the U.S. issued in Cuba, in a third country, or at the land border. They did not have to tear down a wall or jump over a fence," he emphasized.
He subsequently argued that migrants should not bear the consequences of later modifications to immigration regulations.
"His legally undefined status in that country is due to changes in government policy; it is not their fault, nor is it generally due to actions taken by them," he asserted.
And he concluded his argument with a direct accusation: “Your presence there and your illegal or irregular status is the result of the actions of the authorities and official conduct”.
Her statements align with the consequences of the cancellation of the CHNV humanitarian parole program, established during the Joe Biden administration for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The mechanism allowed the temporary entry of hundreds of thousands of people with sponsors in the United States, but its termination under the administration of Donald Trump left many beneficiaries needing to find another legal basis to remain in the country.
However, the Cubans affected by deportations to third countries have diverse migration backgrounds, and not all entered through that program.
"What could be expected of his attitude toward the Cuban people?"
At the end of his publication, Fernández de Cossío shifted from questioning U.S. immigration policy to issuing a warning about Washington's intentions toward Cuba.
"Does the U.S. government treat the Cubans it claims to represent, whom it invited to emigrate, for whose welfare it professes concern and whose interests it claims to defend, what could be expected of its attitude towards the Cuban people if it were to realize its criminal ambition to take control of Cuba?" asked.
The Deputy Foreign Minister thus linked the treatment of migrants to a supposed American intention to take control of the island, an accusation he did not provide evidence for in his statement.
In the final part of his message, he urged a review of the history of U.S. interventions in other countries.
"The history is rich in lessons. One should study the experiences of countries that have suffered military aggression, coups, and domination by the U.S. Without naming them, they provide very eloquent lessons that encourage reflection," he concluded.
Deportations to third countries and family separation
Fernández de Cossío's critiques come at a time when human rights organizations are questioning the transfer of migrants to countries with which they have no personal or familial ties.
A report by Human Rights Watch published in May 2026 documented the deportations of Cuban citizens and nationals from other countries from the United States to Mexico, as well as the protection risks and challenges faced by some of those affected.
The organization has also noted that the Cuban authorities' refusal to accept the repatriation of certain citizens has contributed to some being deported to third countries.
The transfers have also reached much more distant destinations.
On October 22, at least 69 Cubans arrived in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, on a flight from the United States.
Several of the deportees reported having traveled handcuffed and wearing straitjackets, without knowing their destination in advance.
The statements come just two days after Fernández de Cossío acknowledged in an interview with 60 Minutes of CBS News that the Cuban government has "a lot of responsibility" in the crisis facing the island.
In that interview, when asked how he envisioned a resolution to the confrontation between Havana and Washington, he replied: "With a change in attitude from the United States."
The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, declined to participate in the program, but his office responded through a spokesperson that the Cuban government continues to blame the United States for its own problems and accused it of keeping financial resources abroad instead of directing them towards the needs of its population.
Las deportaciones de cubanos a terceros países y las políticas migratorias de EE.UU. siguen generando debate. Mantente informado en nuestra sección de
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