Pablo, a 47-year-old Cuban national, had been granted withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture after fleeing El Salvador in 1995 when gangs killed his brother. On December 6, 2025, ICE deported him to Villahermosa, Mexico before his scheduled court hearing and retained his identity documents. In February 2026, nine men who identified themselves as cartel members approached him at the barber shop where he worked and attempted to recruit him. According to a Human Rights Watch report documenting abuses against third-country nationals deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026, Pablo was among approximately 13,000 people deported during this period, with an estimated 4,353 being Cuban nationals.