Cuban Father in Miami Breaks Down Over Daughter Left in Cuba: "Leaving Her Was the Worst Thing I Could Have Done"

It was nearly 2 a.m. when Jasiel, known on social media as @jasielacosta23, turned on his camera, sat in front of his phone with tearful eyes, and recorded a heartfelt video that has resonated with thousands of Cubans. Unable to sleep, his thoughts were consumed by his daughter, who remains in Cuba while he strives to build a future in Miami.

"It's almost two in the morning, and once again, I'm wide awake thinking about my daughter back in Cuba. People, it's heartbreaking and painful," begins the video. In just under three minutes, Jasiel speaks with a choked voice, unafraid to show his tears. In the video's description, he wrote, "Crying doesn't make me less of a man."

Jasiel's message to other Cuban parents is straightforward and earnest: avoid making his mistake. "Skip that stage of making the big sacrifice for your kids. Don't do it. Believe me, being by their side is what makes them happy," he advises, looking directly into the camera.

Toward the video’s end, Jasiel addresses his daughter directly, as if she might hear him through the screen: "I love you, my sweetheart, and I want you to know that I'm doing all this for you, but sometimes I feel drained." This sentiment encapsulates the impossible dilemma faced by countless Cuban families torn apart by migration.

Following the video, a torrent of comments poured in from parents acknowledging their own shared pain with Jasiel. One father shared that he left his daughter when she was seven, and now she's 11, with him missing her birthdays and the milestones of her growing up. Another recounted that his son, left behind at two years old and now about to turn eight, tells him, "Dad, I don't want anything else. I just want you here with me, taking me to school, feeding me, and playing with me."

One parent has gone seven years without seeing their child, while another has been away for four years. Although they don't regret it because they can support their families financially, they acknowledge that "part of their childhood has slipped away without being able to hug them." A mother even returned to Cuba after more than a year because "she was becoming depressed every day" and couldn't bear the distance, despite knowing the island "is getting worse every day."

The comments also provided space for collective reflection. "All of us who emigrate have a book full of sadness," one follower wrote. Another added, "You don't stop being a good father or mother by making these decisions, and it hurts immensely." Someone else summed up a feeling many have but few express openly: "No one understands this pain until they've lived it."

Jasiel's video is not an isolated case. Cuba is experiencing the largest exodus in its history, with over 251,000 people emigrating in 2024, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information, and the population has fallen to less than 9.75 million. Behind every number is a story like this father’s: sleepless nights, screens replacing hugs, and the unanswered question of whether it was worth it.

TikTok has become the confessional for this generation of emigrants, and Jasiel's video is just one in a long chain of heart-wrenching testimonies from Cuban parents separated from their children that go viral because they touch a wound that never heals. "All my nights are a tragedy," Jasiel said. And thousands of Cubans, from Miami to any corner of the world, know exactly what he's talking about.