A Cuban man who once called himself a “super Trump supporter” was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to a maximum-security prison in Africa after officials falsely labeled him a murderer, according to a new report by The Daily Beast. The report identified the man as 59-year-old Roberto Mosquera, who was deported to Eswatini along with five others.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin claimed on X that Mosquera had been “convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated battery.” That statement, however, was disputed by Mosquera’s daughter and contradicted by public records.
“I was hysterical… It’s literally on their verified page that my dad is a murderer,” said his daughter, 20-year-old Monica Mosquera, in an interview with The Daily Beast. According to the report, Mosquera had never been charged or convicted of murder. When he was 18, he faced an attempted murder charge after shooting someone in the leg, but his attorney told the outlet that he served his sentence decades ago and had spent years rebuilding his life in the United States.
Family members said they were blindsided by the deportation and confused by the government’s handling of his case. Monica described the experience as a nightmare, saying her family was misled about where her father had been sent. “They were saying he was a murderer… Then they lied to me, saying that he was sent to Cuba, and I had to find out about a week later that he was actually sent to Africa,” she said.
The report suggests that administrative errors and miscommunication within the Department of Homeland Security led to Mosquera’s wrongful deportation. His family maintains that he was living a quiet life before being abruptly detained.
Eswatini, a small southern African nation, is home to only one maximum-security prison, where Mosquera is reportedly being held under harsh conditions. His family and legal representatives are now appealing for his release and return to the United States.
The incident has sparked outrage among immigrant rights advocates, who argue that it reflects broader systemic failures in the deportation process. Critics say that even individuals who support the administration’s immigration stance are not immune to its flaws.
For now, the Mosquera family remains in limbo, awaiting official clarification and hoping to correct what they call a devastating mistake that has torn their family apart.