The country Rafael Ojeda Acosta was taken to is not disclosed; the arrests of Osmani Mompié and Vladimir Blanco Menéndez on serious charges are also reported.
14ymedio, Havana, 2 July 2025 — The Cuban Rafael Ojeda Acosta was arrested and tried in New Orleans for the crimes of “illegal carrying of a weapon, rape, sodomy, assault, escape from custody, theft and invasion of private property.” The Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) reported on Monday that he was deported without indicating to which country. The entity also reported the arrests of Osmani Mompié and Vladimir Blanco Menéndez.
The most recent flight of deportees from the US to Cuba was on June 18. The Interior Ministry confirmed the arrival of a flight to Havana with 89 migrants from the island- 76 men, 12 women and one minor. It was reported that one of the returnees was transferred to the investigative body, because at the time he illegally left the country he was on probation.”
In the last week of June, the Supreme Court gave free rein to US President Donald Trump’s administration to resume expelling immigrants to third countries such as South Sudan and El Salvador.
However, a month earlier, the Department of National Security deported Cubans Enrique Arias Hierro and José Manuel Rodríguez Quinones after Cuba refused to receive migrants with criminal records. The action sparked controversy, and Boston-based federal judge Brian Murphy said that the Trump administration violated a court order by deporting eight migrants to South Sudan without giving them an opportunity to object to the transfer.
One of the most recent cases is that of a Cuban identified by the initials C.R.L. According to official information, the transfer “was delayed because Cuba did not want to receive him and refused to facilitate his deportation.” The migrant, who spent three years in prison for serious crimes, resorted to habeas corpus and requested to be released until the US found a country willing to receive him. Mexico was the nation, but the detainee refused to accept it, so he remains in custody.
As for Osmani Mompié, ICE stated that he was sentenced for conspiracy to transport immigrants illegally, which put the lives of the people involved at risk. “He came here to traffic people. Now he’s the one who is being escorted back,” the agency emphasized in its publication.
The agency reported that Vladimir Blanco Menéndez was arrested and charged with child sexual abuse in Palm Beach County, Florida. It also published a number for people to report in the case of more victims.
The local newspaper The Palm Beach Post reported Blanco’s capture in 2019. The publication reports that a woman installed a tape recorder in her home on suspicion of a relationship with her daughter. The audios were used by the young woman to denounce her aggressor, whom she accused of forcing her to have sex. He was prosecuted by the authorities and fined $75,000 at that time.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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