NOGALES, SONORA.- One month ago, the Cuban Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security Juan Carlos Santana Novoa took advantage of the fact that he was in Mexico at a regional summit and escaped from the delegation to request political asylum in the United States.
The case dates back to September 4, but it was made public a few days ago. Santana and his team participated in the First Technical Summit of the American Social Security Commissions in Mexico City.
The Cuban media outlet Martí Noticias pointed out that when he was supposed to return to Cuba, Santana left the city and headed toward the border with the United States. He then crossed the border through the Mexican city of Nogales, Sonora, into the city of Nogales, in the state of Arizona.
However, Santana requested the asylum appointment on September 30 and did not reveal to immigration authorities that he had a position within the Cuban regime. The leaks indicate that this facilitated his entry into the United States.
The US authorities allowed Santana to remain in the country. In the meantime, he will have to wait for the preliminary hearing of his case in the city of Orlando, Florida, on August 21, 2026.
The Cuban regime has not commented on Santana’s defection. However, on the official website of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security his name no longer appears and there is a new vice minister in his position.
A group of congressmen from South Florida criticized the fact that Santana is free within the United States. María Elvira Salazar condemned that he sought asylum in the “capitalist empire” and did not ask for “refuge in Venezuela, Nicaragua or North Korea.”
Santana joined the list of Cuban regime officials who defected in recent months to the United States. They include the former first secretary of the party in Cienfuegos, a pilot, a judge, a prosecutor, and the former president of the Municipal Assembly on the Isle of Youth (La Isla de la Juventud).
Source: Marti Noticias
