Arístides Fernández García, a 37-year-old Cuban trucking company owner who fled Cuba in 2021 after being kidnapped and robbed in Mexico, was living in South Florida under an I-220A release order when ICE arrested him following a Miami immigration court hearing on January 6, 2026. He spent about seven months in detention at facilities including Krome, 'Alligator Alcatraz,' and centers in Louisiana and Texas. On July 30, he was shackled and flown roughly 22 hours with about 80 other detainees, including Cubans, an Ecuadorian, and a Honduran, to Bangui, Central African Republic — a country under the U.S. State Department's highest 'Do Not Travel' advisory due to risks including unrest, crime, kidnapping and terrorism. He said he was not told the destination until mid-flight and was stripped of his identification, money, and phone upon arrival, now confined to a guarded building without legal status, a passport, or embassy support. "I paid taxes, I never got a traffic ticket. I did everything right," he said, and described feeling "kidnapped," saying "we are prisoners here, they won't let us leave or go anywhere... they have violated all the rights that exist in life, because we are human beings." He said he still wants to pursue his asylum claim, while immigration attorney Morella Aguado said there is no legal basis for sending migrants to a country not designated by an immigration judge.