U.S. Deports 2003 Cuban Air Hijacker to Mexico Amid Havana's Continued Refusal to Take Back Ex-Convicts

The United States has deported a Cuban man who hijacked a commercial plane in 2003 to Mexico after Havana declined to accept him, underscoring the challenges Washington faces when repatriating nationals with criminal records.

Adermis Wilson Gonzalez was sent by bus to Mexico alongside about 40 other deportees from Latin America after nearly three months in U.S. immigration detention in Texas, according to his family.

Wilson Gonzalez's sister told Miami-based news sited Café Fuerte that he was released without official documents. "They let them go after taking a photo," she said, adding that relatives have been sending him money for basic needs. She said he is now sharing a rented room with another deportee. The case highlights Cuba's long-standing policy of refusing to take back citizens with serious criminal histories, leaving U.S. authorities to deport such individuals to third countries.

The deportee was convicted of air piracy for hijacking a Cubana de Aviación Antonov-24 with 46 passengers on board in March 2003. Armed with two fake grenades, he demanded the flight be diverted to Miami, as CiberCuba explains.

Low on fuel, the aircraft made an emergency landing in Havana, where after 14 hours of negotiations involving then-President Fidel Castro and U.S. diplomat James Cason, it flew to Key West under U.S. military escort. No one was injured, and he surrendered upon arrival.

He served nearly 20 years in federal prison in South Carolina and was released in 2021 on humanitarian grounds due to health issues.

In June 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him in Houston as part of a wider operation that detained more than 1,300 people, including individuals with serious criminal backgrounds. His deportation comes amid a broader Trump administration crackdown on undocumented immigrants following a Supreme Court ruling authorizing deportations to third countries when home nations refuse to accept returnees.

In earlier comments to CiberCuba, Wilson Gonzalez voiced frustration at the uncertainty of his case, saying, "It would be the greatest irony of life to flee Cuba and die in an immigration center in the most powerful country in the world, where I came seeking freedom."