Cuba Accepts 139 Migrants in Eleventh U.S. Deportation Flight of 2025

The Republic of Cuba formally accepted the repatriation of 139 irregular migrants on Thursday, November 20, 2025, via an air deportation flight originating from the United States. This action adheres to standing bilateral migration accords between the two nations, which stipulate the return of individuals intercepted during unauthorized entry attempts into U.S. territory.

This specific flight represented the eleventh instance of air deportations executed from the U.S. to Cuba in the 2025 calendar year, confirming the continued operational status of these repatriation mechanisms. The group consisted of 109 men and 30 women, all processed for return under the existing agreement. Upon arrival, Cuban authorities confirmed that one repatriated individual was immediately taken into custody by local enforcement due to having been on parole at the time of their illegal departure from the country.

This detention suggests coordination between U.S. and Cuban enforcement agencies regarding returnees with outstanding legal matters, as detailed by the official newspaper Granma. This incident occurs amid significant migratory flows; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data indicated that Cuban arrivals totaled 217,615 individuals during Fiscal Year 2024 alone.

Focusing on direct deportations from the U.S., the 139 individuals on November 20th brought the cumulative total returned via these eleven flights in 2025 to 1,370 people. In a broader regional context, the total number of individuals returned to Cuba across 52 distinct repatriation operations from various nations in 2025 has reached 1,535. This sustained activity follows the resumption of air deportation flights in late April 2023, after a suspension that began in 2020, with the flights targeting those deemed inadmissible after detention at the Mexican border.

Cuban authorities utilize these repatriation events to reiterate their official policy advocating for migration that is regular, safe, and orderly, while warning against the dangers of clandestine departures. The underlying driver for the exodus remains the protracted economic hardship on the island, characterized by scarcity and elevated inflation. Over the last four U.S. fiscal years, the cumulative number of Cuban arrivals processed by the U.S. has surpassed 860,000, illustrating the scale of the outflow necessitating these bilateral enforcement actions.

The recurring deportation process confirms the functional nature of the migration pacts, serving as an enforcement lever against significant demographic pressure. The immediate detention of the parole violator highlights a specific enforcement layer within the bilateral framework, addressing individuals with prior legal entanglements in Cuba alongside general repatriation.