Record arrival of Cubans in Brazil exposes dangerous routes and actions of coyotes for up to US$10,000
A routine scene in Roraima was repeated in the early hours of June 11, when the Federal Highway Police (PRF) found 43 individuals on the BR-401, in Cantá, near Boa Vista. The group was dragging heavy luggage along the side of the highway.
Children, women and men made up the group, which had arrived in Brazil clandestinely hours before, crossing the Guyanese border, days after leaving Cuba.
Isaias Magalhães, head of communications for the PRF in Roraima, describes the precarious condition of the new arrivals, many without adequate food, surviving on biscuits and suffering from respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.
Left to their own devices by a network of coyotes after crossing the border, the group added to the statistic of 13,000 Cubans who sought refuge in Brazil until April 2026. This data comes from the International Migration Observatory (OBMigra), the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Justice and the University of Brasília (UnB).
The Federal Police, in turn, registered the regular entry of around 6,000 Cubans into Brazil via air or land checkpoints throughout 2026.
It is important to note, according to the Ministry of Justice, that the volume of asylum requests does not indicate an equivalent number of new arrivals, as some applicants may have entered the country longer ago and formalized their request recently.
However, the disparity between the 13,000 asylum requests and the approximately 6,000 regular entry records suggests an increase in migration via clandestine or undocumented routes. This trend is noticed by researchers and host entities in Roraima.
Cuban nationality takes the lead in asylum requests in Brazil
The data confirms a change that began in 2025: Cubans overtook Venezuelans as the nationality with the highest volume of asylum requests in Brazil. In the previous year, around 42 thousand requests were registered from Cubans, an increase of 20 thousand compared to Venezuelans.
Guyana, which does not impose visa requirements for Cubans, has become a departure point for thousands. They travel by plane from Havana to Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, usually with stops in the Dominican Republic. From there, the journey continues for up to 20 hours on roads, many of them dirt, to Lethem, on the border with Brazil.
At the border, illegal crossers transport them irregularly across the Tacutu River in boats. Once on Brazilian soil, the migrants continue in overcrowded and fast vehicles towards Boa Vista, where they request refuge to obtain permission to stay.
Thaisa Freitas, coordinator of the Jesuit Service for Migrants and Refugees in Roraima, warns that these routes expose individuals to various dangers, such as unsafe means of transport, debt and exploitation. The institution has seen a significant increase in the reception of Cubans.
According to Brazilian legislation, any foreigner who reaches the national territory can formalize a request for refuge with a migration authority present at the border. In theory, this means that Cubans would not need to resort to clandestine crossings.
However, reports from immigrants and other sources indicate that many Cubans are deceived into believing that it is mandatory to use irregular middlemen for the journey. The amounts paid for these services, since leaving Cuba, can exceed 10 thousand dollars, equivalent to 51.4 thousand reais.
Professor Marcia Maria de Oliveira, from the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), who conducts studies on migration and interviews Cubans, states that accurate information is not reaching the island.
She expresses surprise at the lack of dissemination of information about the unnecessary use of smuggling and human trafficking groups, despite recognizing the scarcity of data reaching Cuba.
The PRF reported that, in the last week, there was an increase in the number of immigrants who sought refuge directly at the Bonfim border post, choosing not to use clandestine routes.
For agent Magalhães, this signals that the information that “Brazil is not like the USA” and can welcome migrants at the border may finally be reaching Cuba.
Understand the reasons for the growth of Cuban migration to Brazil
The increasing arrival of Cubans in Brazil occurs at a time of tightening of United States border policies, especially after the return of the Donald Trump government in 2025.
This migratory flow to Brazil is also a reflection of the closure of an important “migratory corridor” in Central America for Cuban citizens.
Previously, in 2021, Nicaragua had removed the visa requirement for Cubans, which made it possible for thousands to legally fly to Managua.
In this way, many Cubans leaving the island could travel overland through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, aiming for the North American border.
However, on February 8 of this year, under pressure from the United States, Nicaragua revoked visa-free entry permission for Cubans. As a result, Guyana became one of the few countries to not require visas from them.
Reaching this record number of migrants coincides with a severe economic crisis in Cuba and the collapse of thermoelectric plants, resulting in daily interruptions in the supply of electricity.
The economic embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba, in force for decades, has undergone an unprecedented intensification.
With the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by the United States, Cuba lost its main oil supplier, triggering a widespread shortage. Former President Trump had even threatened import tariffs against nations that traded oil with the island.
Furthermore, Cuba deals with significant climate challenges, including the frequent passage of hurricanes, a factor that Professor Oliveira also identifies in migrants’ reports.
“Therefore, in addition to the lack of conditions to maintain electricity continuously, there is the complete destruction of infrastructure”, points out the researcher.
Faced with a more complex route to the United States and a persistent internal crisis, Brazil has emerged as an alternative destination for Cubans.
The complex journey of a Cuban family seeking refuge in Brazil
Evelio Vazques, 45 years old, remembers the desire to get to know Brazil, fueled since the 1990s by soap operas shown on television. He remembers, for example, the tropical setting of Pontal da Areia, in the fictional village of “Mulheres de Areia”, the scene of disagreements between the twins Ruth and Raquel.
“We dreamed of Brazil since childhood, watching soap operas and identifying affinities with the country, such as people’s way of being and empathy”, says the Cuban.
A psychologist with a doctorate and specialization in marital conflicts, Evelio Vazques ensured his family’s livelihood in recent years by acting as a tour guide and driver of classic Cuban cars, such as the emblematic 1959 Ford and 1956 Cadillac. Most of his income came from tips from international visitors.
“The psychologist’s salary wasn’t enough to buy even thirty eggs a month. Even with money, we could go twenty days without finding them, as there were no eggs”, he describes.
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The condition in Cuba worsened considerably after the covid-19 pandemic, which severely impacted the tourism sector, one of the island’s main sources of income.
In 2018, Cuba reached a historic milestone with 4.7 million tourists, generating 2.782 billion dollars in revenue, approximately 14.3 billion reais. However, in 2025, the number plummeted to 1.8 million visitors, according to the Cuban National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei).
The Cuban economy, already weakened, became even more vulnerable after Maduro’s capture in January and the oil blockade imposed by Trump. These events intensified an energy crisis that directly interferes with the lives of millions of citizens.
“Cuba is a country where, even with remittances from abroad, you can’t find anything to buy. Electricity lasts for two hours, and then we spend thirty, thirty-four consecutive hours without power. It’s a collapse”, reports Evelio.
Given the situation, the Cuban planned to move to Brazil with his wife and three children, aged 17, 6 and 4, the two youngest being autistic. He sold all his assets, requested financial assistance from relatives in the USA and purchased tickets to Guyana.
The initial intention was to work in Guyana for a few months, accumulate resources and head to Brazil independently, using a rented car.
However, he received advice to give up this idea, due to the supposed risks of not being able to cross the border.
“We Cubans are taught to believe that the law does not work. Therefore, I feared that, because I am Cuban, I would be prevented from continuing on the journey,” he explained.
Professor Marcia Maria de Oliveira highlights that “there is no Cuban who arrived here without the intermediation of coyotes.”
“They said that it is extremely complicated to leave the country without resorting to these clandestine networks”, adds the researcher.
Evelio’s family traveled by van from Georgetown to Lethem, Guyana. The psychologist states that this trip cost 1,250 dollars, around 6,400 reais, an amount five times higher than that charged to other nationalities.
In Lethem, a coyote was waiting for them. “At one point, they asked us to get down and took us to a forested area”, says Evelio, who guarantees that he felt no fear.
The crossing of the Tacutu River, which divides Lethem and Bonfim, in Roraima, was done by boat by the family, upon payment of another 180 dollars, equivalent to 925 reais.
“On the opposite side, someone greeted us: ‘Congratulations, you are already in Brazil’, and we resumed walking along an improvised route”, he described.
According to the PRF, cars intercepted on the highways between Bonfim and Boa Vista often exceed twice their capacity. This overcrowding was a reality for Evelio’s family.
Arriving in Boa Vista, the family filed a request for refuge, an appeal that requires proof of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group or political position, or that the country of origin faces serious and widespread violations of human rights.
Evelio, his wife and children slept in hammocks suspended from trees until they could afford community accommodation available to Cubans in the same condition.
After carrying out informal work as a gardener and bricklayer, they managed to rent a small house in Boa Vista in just 10 days, where they currently reside.
The Cuban expresses gratitude for the treatment of Brazilian institutions, such as the Federal Police, but highlights a gap in the specific reception of migrants of his nationality.
Evelio regrets that Operação Acolhida, established in 2018 to receive Venezuelans at the Roraima border, has not been adjusted to also serve Cubans.
When asked about the possible extension of the project to Cuban migrants, Operação Acolhida, managed by the Ministry of Social Defense, and the Ministry of Justice did not respond to the request.
The Ministry of Justice, in turn, declared that it “implements the National Policy on Migration, Refuge and Statelessness, which aims to integrate these populations in health, social assistance, education, human rights and job creation.” Since then, Evelio and his family have remained in Boa Vista, where he currently works as an app driver.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to Brazil for the respect with which they treat us. We are used to being humiliated, subjugated or disrespected due to our condition”, says the Cuban.
“However, we aim for agile and effective social integration. We need to be useful with our professions and workforce, as we wish to contribute to Brazil, the country that welcomes us”, he adds.
In Boa Vista, Evelio joined other Cubans to found the “Asociación de Comunidades Cubanas en la República Federativa de Brasil”, with the purpose of organizing the community and providing precise guidance to those interested in coming to Brazil.
For many Cubans, Brazil is a transit country
According to researcher Marcia Maria de Oliveira, less than half of the Cubans interviewed in reception centers in Boa Vista express a desire to stay in Brazil.
Most, she said, plan to continue their journey to other Spanish-speaking South American nations, such as Argentina and Uruguay, or head to North America.
Federal Police data from 2025 indicate that 21,000 Cubans officially entered Brazil, while 5,400 left the country via the Santana do Livramento border, in Rio Grande do Sul, towards Uruguay.
Other migrants, according to the researcher, seek refuge in Brazil with the aim of, after three months, requesting resettlement in nations such as Canada. This mechanism allows recognized refugees to be transferred to a third country that offers them permanent protection.
“Many agencies in Cuba, when selling travel packages, already direct them to Canada”, comments Oliveira. The Ministry of Justice, in a statement, stated that it “works to maintain the purpose of the refuge institute, in line with Brazilian legislation and international protection instruments”.
The embassies of Cuba and Guyana in Brazil were contacted to comment on the assistance provided to migrants and the activities of criminal groups on the border, but there was no response at the time of reporting.
