The lack of direct flights is not preventing the return of detainees to the Island.
14ymedio / EFE, Moscow, April 1, 2026 – Authorities in Moscow are detaining and massively deporting Cuban migrants who have not regularized their immigration status, despite the absence of direct flights between the Russian capital and Havana due to the Island’s energy crisis, according to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti on Wednesday.
According to relatives of those detained, police checks on Cuban citizens regarding their immigration status have intensified in recent months.
“Those with issues in their documents are sent to the Sakharovo deportation center (on the outskirts of Moscow), where they are held and kept incommunicado for weeks,” the outlet reported.
Because there are currently no direct flights between the two countries, due to Cuba’s alert over a lack of fuel to supply international flights, Cubans are being deported via the Turkish city of Istanbul.
“Those with issues in their documents are sent to the Sakharovo deportation center, where they are held and kept incommunicado for weeks.”
According to Ostorozhno, Novosti, relatives search for detainees through groups created on Facebook.
Because detainees are held incommunicado, and there is little precise information, since deportation cases are not processed through the courts but decided at the level of Russia’s Interior Ministry. Much of the information circulating on social media is false, the outlet said.
As an example, Ostorozhno, Novosti cited the case of a Cuban detainee who was rumored to have been deported but was actually arrested for drug trafficking, a crime severely punished in Russia.
Although the chances of legalizing immigration status in Russia are quite limited for Cubans, especially compared to nationals from former Soviet republics, who can obtain work permits, thousands of Cubans travel to Russia in search of jobs and better living conditions.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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