19 Cuban Nationals Deported from Russian Region in 2025

In the year 2025, a total of 19 Cuban nationals faced deportation from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in Russia. Between January and September, local authorities expelled a total of 244 foreign nationals from this oil-rich region due to violations of migration regulations, as reported by a local news outlet. The deported individuals included migrants from Uzbekistan (82), Tajikistan (63), and Azerbaijan (40), alongside 19 individuals each from Cameroon, Cuba, and China.

The report from NV86 noted, “All foreign nationals were fined for violating the residency regulations within the territory of the Russian Federation, and the court mandated the forced expulsion of each illegal migrant.”

Cubans Forced Out of Russia in July

In a separate incident in July, 15 Cuban migrants were expelled from Russia over the course of a week from unrelated cases, specifically in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Vladimir region. Local media from these regions reported that seven Cubans were deported from Tatarstan on July 15, while nine were arrested and faced deportation in the Alexandrovsky district of the Vladimir region.

Anvar Zakirov, head of the Federal Bailiffs Service of the Republic of Tatarstan, confirmed on Tuesday, “Among the more than 500 expelled individuals, there are representatives of various nationalities, not just from nearby countries. For example, I can confirm that seven Cuban citizens were deported this morning, highlighting the diverse nationalities involved.”

The group of nine Cubans in Vladimir were reportedly working illegally for two other foreign nationals, according to another local source. These employers, whose nationalities were not disclosed, oversaw the illegal employment and residency of nine Cubans, aged 28 to 58, from May 2024 to April 2025 at a shopping center in the Alexandrovsky district. The alleged traffickers, who were brothers aged 59 and 62, face charges of facilitating illegal migration and could receive up to five years in prison and significant fines.

The Cuban migrants were detained at a migration center pending deportation.

Challenges for Cubans in Russia

Although Cuban citizens can enter Russia without a visa for up to 90 days, many have been detained or deported for working without permits, overstaying, or failing to update their status. In March 2025, at least 17 Cubans were detained in the Krasnodar region for illegal residency. They were sent back to Cuba on two separate flights, with the last one arriving on April 27. One individual faced additional legal issues for attempting to evade deportation.

Shortly thereafter, the case of Yoel Gallart Villalobos, a 46-year-old from Matanzas, gained attention on social media. Having lived in Russia for six years and fathered three children there, Gallart was turned over to the police by his own mother-in-law due to a lack of documentation. From a deportation center in Gulkevichi, he warned other Cubans: “Go to another country; they are rounding up immigrants here.”

His story is particularly heartbreaking as his three children, all minors, are now in the care of a grandmother with limited resources, and he fears permanent separation from them. Despite years of working in Sochi, he was never able to regularize his status.

Additionally, there is the case of Nailen, a young woman from Sancti Spíritus, who has been detained for 11 months after escaping an alleged prostitution ring. She was arrested following her escape from a club where she was reportedly exploited, according to social media reports. Her family was unaware of her whereabouts until a Facebook user raised the alarm.