Egyptian Traveler's Attempt to Reach U.S. via Cuba Ends in Detention

An Egyptian national's attempt to reach the United States through an unconventional route was thwarted when he was detained in Havana while trying to board a flight to Nicaragua. This incident, which gained notoriety after being aired on the television program "¡Alto! Frontera," went viral on YouTube. The footage captures the moment when Cuban immigration officials intercepted the traveler at José Martí International Airport.

The episode, filmed at Terminal 3, shows that the man arrived in Cuba from Turkey with a tourist visa, claiming he was there for a vacation. However, authorities grew suspicious when the Egyptian citizen attempted to fly to Nicaragua, a known entry point for many irregular migrants heading towards the U.S. southern border.

During the confrontation, the visibly distressed Egyptian began to shout and plead, "Cuba, Cuba! Not Turkey, please! Tourism Cuba, visa Cuba!" realizing that he would be sent back to his home country. At one point in the video, a lieutenant colonel approaches him and in broken English, instructs him to follow: "No problems, vamos," he says.

Inside the elevator, the military officer tries to be more direct, informing him that in order to reach Nicaragua, he should fly from Istanbul, not Havana, indicating the authorities' intent to repatriate him. The traveler, aware of his impending fate, sits on the floor and begs not to be returned to Turkey. He insists he has a hotel reservation in Cuba for nine days, attempting to prove his trip was genuinely for tourism. Nevertheless, the authorities remained unconvinced.

According to the official account presented in the program, the man admitted that his true intention was to reach Nicaragua and then cross into the United States, using "coyotes" and migrant smuggling networks. The lieutenant colonel noted that many of these Egyptian citizens are Christians from coastal regions of Egypt who migrate because they "fear for their lives" in a predominantly Muslim country.

Despite not committing any crime on Cuban soil, the Egyptian was compelled to board a flight back to his home country without facing any charges. The officer leading the intervention emphasized that "emigrating is a universal right" as long as it follows legal channels, and stressed that "Cuba has the obligation to protect its integrity."

The case sparked mixed reactions on social media. In the comments section of the video, one user criticized the Cuban government's stance: "The Egyptian tourist wasn't allowed to continue to Nicaragua for supposed migration to the United States, yet the hundreds of thousands of Cubans allowed to depart for Nicaragua-USA who never returned, and everyone in Cuba knew they wouldn't come back, they were not stopped. But the poor Egyptian, who made countless sacrifices, won't be allowed to proceed. It's a joke."