Deported Trump Supporter Runs Africa Migrant Aid Lifeline as He Begs Democrats for Rescue

The US deported Yasmany Moreno, a Cuban migrant who says he backed Donald Trump in 2024, to the Central African Republic in July. From Bangui, the capital, he has bought phones, shared food, and raised money for other deportees. He is also urging Democrats to review the group's removal.

His help matters because recent arrivals report landing without passports in a country the US State Department warns against visiting. Human Rights Watch counted more than 500 such removals to Africa by August 2026. Its interim US programme director, Michael Garcia Bochenek, calls the policy 'designed to cause human suffering'.

Moreno Became the Group's Lifeline in Bangui

Moreno reached Bangui on 1 August after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flew him from Texas in shackles, revealing the destination hours into the flight. He shares his cash and meals and visits detention centres to check on arrivals, CiberCuba reported. His US family sends him about $500 (£370) a week, part of which he says he spends on others. Five phones he bought with donations appear in the post below.

Ten women, eight of them Cuban, landed on 24 October believing they were bound for Miami; they told Telemundo. Moreno accuses ICE of destroying their phones and passports, and two in the group say officers beat them. His videos show swollen feet the group blames on 25-plus hours in chains. 'I'm a man, but they're women, and they could be raped,' he said in one video. He says kidnappers have seized him twice since August.

From Trump Backer to Pleading With Democrats

Moreno, 32, reached the US by raft in 2016 and backed Trump in 2024 for the Republicans' Cuba promises. As a non-citizen, he could not vote. He fears returning to Cuba, where he was once jailed for trying to leave. ICE detained him on 11 May 2025, holding him for over a year. 'Cubans feel betrayed by Trump,' he said on Univision, urging Latino voters to punish the president at the midterms.

After Democrats won Congress on 3 November, Moreno posted an appeal asking the party to review how deportees reached Africa 'without the proper process'. ICE told Univision Moreno received due process. It cited a removal order that became final on 27 April 2026 and five traffic offences, including driving on a suspended licence. The Department of Homeland Security told NPR that removed migrants get advance notice and safety assurances. NPR found no criminal charges against him in Florida.

What Happens Next for the Deportees

The Supreme Court has let third-country removals continue while it considers the policy's legality, with oral arguments set for 9 December. Fellow Cuban deportee Arístides Fernández García left Bangui for Bolivia on 19 October. Lawyers, and a contact Moreno links to the US government, are exploring visas to Panama, Costa Rica, or Guyana.

In September, Moreno heard his file could hold mistakes and a return within 30 to 60 days was possible. None had occurred by late October, CiberCuba reported. Arianne Betancourt of the migrant rights group Workers Circle warned that deportees 'do not receive medical care in detention centres'.