A Cuban woman, known on TikTok as @50tonadefuego, recently shared her harrowing migration journey from Cuba to the United States. Her odyssey began in 2016, spanning 13 countries under daunting conditions before she could finally surrender to U.S. immigration authorities.
In the TikTok video, she describes starting her journey in French Guiana, a common departure point for Cuban migrants at the time. "I left through French Guiana because that's where you could leave from back then in 2016," she recounts.
After spending four days in French Guiana, she traveled to Brazil. There, she worked in a hotel for about a year to save money for the next leg of her journey.
A Determined Path Through South America
Her journey continued from Brazil to Peru, where she juggled a restaurant job with selling stuffed potatoes at a market. "I started making stuffed potatoes and selling them, and with that, I saved up some money," she explains. It was during her time in Peru that the Obama administration and Raul Castro's regime ended the "wet foot, dry foot" policy on January 12, 2017, a shift that drastically affected many Cuban migrants and led to a 71% drop in raft arrivals that year.
After Peru, she traveled through Ecuador—"a terrible cold," she recalls—without stopping, before reaching Colombia. There, she faced one of the most grueling parts of her journey. She attempted to cross into Panama four times; the first three times she was caught and sent back. "Three times they caught me in Panama and three times they sent me back to Colombia. The fourth time was when I finally made it," she says.
Crossing Borders and Facing Challenges
Having crossed the notorious Darién Gap, she traveled through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala before reaching Mexico. In Mexico, she obtained a transit pass allowing her to travel by bus to the U.S. border. This document, valid for 20 days, does not permit employment and is intended to help Cuban migrants move northward to seek asylum.
At the border, she crossed through a "turnstile" for 25 cents and voluntarily presented herself to immigration authorities. She was taken to an immigration detention center, where she spent 18 days. During this time, her credible fear interview request—the first step in the asylum process—was approved. "Cubans don't need to lie or say anything; just tell the life you've lived in Cuba, and you'll get your credible fear approved right now," she asserts.
However, she couldn't leave the detention center immediately. She had been robbed in Colombia, losing all her documents, so she had to request a birth certificate from Cuba to prove her identity.
Awaiting the Rest of the Story
She announced that she would share the remainder of her story in a second video but summed up her experience with a phrase that encapsulates the journey's weight: "It wasn't easy!"
Her account adds to the growing number of stories from migrants who have traversed jungles, borders, and detention centers to reach U.S. soil, highlighting the dire circumstances that drive thousands of Cubans to leave their homeland each year.
FAQs on Cuban Migration to the U.S.
What changes did the end of the "wet foot, dry foot" policy bring?
The termination of the "wet foot, dry foot" policy significantly altered the conditions for Cuban migrants, leading to a 71% decrease in raft arrivals in 2017. It removed the automatic path to residency for Cubans who reached U.S. soil.
Why do many Cubans choose French Guiana as a starting point?
French Guiana was a common departure point for Cuban migrants due to its ease of access and the possibility of beginning a journey toward the U.S. from there.