Cuban with Criminal Past Arrested by ICE in Miami-Dade

In a recent operation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended a Cuban national who has a history of armed robbery and kidnapping in Miami-Dade, Florida. According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the arrest occurred on July 17 as part of an effort targeting deportable undocumented immigrants with convictions for violent crimes. Among those detained was 56-year-old Juan Félix Yanes Montano.

The DHS report highlighted that Yanes Montano has previous convictions for crimes such as robbery with a deadly weapon, armed burglary, and kidnapping with a deadly weapon in Miami-Dade County. The authorities also revealed the arrest of four other illegal immigrants from Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Mexico, all of whom have extensive records involving violent offenses, including murder, rape, human trafficking, and fentanyl distribution.

"These are some of the WORST OF THE WORST arrested by ICE yesterday," the DHS emphasized, underlining the severe threat these individuals pose to the safety of American communities. The detainees are currently in ICE custody, awaiting deportation from the United States.

In recent weeks, there has been a surge in the arrests and deportations of Cuban immigrants in the U.S. who have criminal backgrounds or outstanding charges for serious offenses. In Buffalo, New York, ICE and Border Patrol agents detained Geraldo Lunas Campos, a convicted felon in the U.S., with a criminal record dating back to 1997, including first-degree sexual abuse of a child under 11, aggravated assault with a weapon, and criminal possession of a loaded firearm, among other crimes.

Another Cuban, Ariochy Morán, who is unlawfully present and has been convicted of attempted lewd acts on a child under 12, was apprehended in Miami. Both individuals face deportation.

On Tuesday night, five immigrants of various nationalities, including Cuban Roberto Mosquera Del Peral with convictions for first-degree murder, aggravated assault on a police officer with a weapon, vehicle theft, and fleeing police with reckless driving, were deported by the U.S. to the African kingdom of Eswatini.

In May, eight immigrants with criminal backgrounds were deported to South Sudan, among them Cuban nationals Enrique Arias Hierro, 47, and José Manuel Rodríguez Quiñones, 54, both with severe criminal convictions. That same month, the Trump administration deported former Cuban Interior Ministry agent Daniel Morejón García, who was involved in the crackdown on the July 11, 2021 protests.

Cubans eligible for deportation may be sent to third countries if the Cuban government refuses to accept them. At the end of June, the Supreme Court backed President Donald Trump by authorizing the resumption of deportations of immigrants to countries other than their places of origin.