A Cuban man who sewed his mouth shut in protest over what he considered to be injustices in his asylum case in the U.S. is about to be deported back to the island.
Osleivy Carnaval, 26, is currently being held in a detention center in Krome, Florida, after being relocated from another center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana. He is expected to get deported this Friday.
His sister, Osmalilyx Gutiérrez, who lives in Tampa, told Telemundo 51 she's desperate and concerned for his future.
"We don't know anything about him," she said. "We don't know what condition he's in, or in what condition he's going to be in when he arrives in Cuba, whether our family there will be able to receive him."
Carnaval sewed his mouth shut to express his objection to the asylum process and to denounce the atrocities that he claims hundreds of Cubans are facing at his prior detention center in Pine Prairie.
His sister explained that in just over three months, Carnaval has suffered from more than one injustice, including being rejected after his "credible fear" interview despite what she says was legitimate evidence presented to the judge.
Immigrants who apply for asylum to prevent deportation must be able to prove that they face a well-founded fear of persecution upon returning to their native country.
Local
Gutiérrez expressed that her family was going through one of the toughest moment of their lives, and that they were waiting for a miracle as well as any news of the young immigrant's status and condition.
"It's not easy for him to go back to Cuba after all that he went through there. That's why he left, and now this is a very difficult situation," she said.
Since the end of August, there have been 743 Cubans deported from the U.S. back to the island.
