DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Elena Lara said her baby boy’s first birthday was the saddest moment she’s ever experienced. His father, Ariel, sang to him over a video call from an ICE detention facility in October.

“There’s no mercy. There’s no empathy,” Lara said, describing her husband’s message from inside.

After seven months in custody, Ariel was deported — not to Cuba, where he fears persecution, but to Mexico. Lara says returning to Cuba “is not an option” for him.

The family first shared their story in early 2025, after Ariel was detained during an ICE check-in in downtown Miami.

He had no U.S. criminal record and was part of the 2021 Patria y Vida protests in Cuba, where he was known as an anti-government activist.

He previously failed to enter the U.S. while seeking asylum but returned legally in 2022 under the Biden administration’s parole program, which was later revoked under the Trump administration.

Lara said her husband trusted U.S. leaders to protect Cubans like him.

“He had a lot of faith in Marco Rubio,” she said.

Now, she added, they feel betrayed.

With Ariel in Mexico, Lara worries constantly. “Mexico is a very violent country,” she said.

She records each video call for their son, whose favorite new word is the one he repeats every time his father appears on screen: “Papa.”

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