In August 2025, a Cuban national named Yasmani Moreno de Armas was deported from the United States and sent to Africa, arriving at the airport in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. He was arrested on May 11, 2025, near West Palm Beach, Florida, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. After spending several months in a U.S. detention center, he was deported, though he initially believed he was being sent back to Cuba. During the flight, he and 30 other Latin American migrants discovered they were being sent to Africa after two hours of travel. According to Third Country Deportation Watch, a project led by the U.S. non-governmental organization Human Rights First, at least 475 people were forcibly transferred by the U.S. government to African countries between January 20, 2025, and September 10, 2026. Most of these individuals have no connection to Africa and are often nationals of Latin American countries, who are considered by U.S. immigration judges to be at risk of persecution or torture if returned to their countries of origin. Brayan Omar Sánchez, a Honduran citizen also expelled to Bangui, told El País that being separated from his family was very difficult. Once on the African continent, it is difficult to determine what happens to these individuals. According to El País, which interviewed a dozen of them, they are held in high-security prisons or housed in hotels under the supervision of local authorities. They are also deprived of their identification documents and find themselves trapped in a legal limbo between three countries. On one side, the United States claims it is no longer responsible once the deportation is carried out, while on the other side, African states may deny them a migration status or long-term protection. Their country of origin may also refuse their return if the political situation is unstable or their safety is threatened. According to El País, expelling a migrant to Africa can cost up to one million dollars to the United States.