Cuban Nationals Among Over 230 Arrested in Crackdown on Undocumented Truckers in the U.S.

Cuban nationals were among the more than 230 undocumented immigrants detained during Operation Guardian, a federal 72-hour initiative conducted across 15 states from October 26 to 28, 2026, aimed at removing unauthorized commercial vehicle drivers from U.S. highways.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed the operation's outcomes on Monday during a press conference at the Melton Trucking facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton reported that authorities inspected 1,005 commercial vehicles and that over 40 detainees were operating trucks without valid credentials.

Cuba was listed among the 19 countries of origin of those arrested, alongside Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, China, Haiti, and other nations. The DHS did not provide a breakdown by nationality, leaving the exact number of Cubans detained unknown.

This operation is part of a series of immigration enforcement actions impacting Cubans and other immigrants nationwide. Stay updated with the latest developments in our U.S. Immigration section.

The operation was initially conceived by Oklahoma after detecting drivers attempting to bypass state weigh stations. To prevent this, authorities coordinated with 14 additional states—including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, and Louisiana—so drivers could not simply alter their routes to evade checks.

"When we began the operation, we observed online traffic, and drivers started diverting around Oklahoma," Mullin explained. "We had 14 states cooperate in this three-day operation, and we hope to repeat it nationwide repeatedly."

Tipton emphasized the road safety risks: "When someone drives an 80,000-pound truck without proper training and can't read or speak English, we've seen the devastating effects across the country. It's our duty to try to prevent such acts."

The operation also exposed severe issues beyond traffic violations. One stopped vehicle was transporting six people, including a 17-year-old girl who had entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor; the adults were under investigation for sex trafficking. In another incident, a suspect driving a stolen vehicle assaulted an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer—resulting in a dislocated elbow and fractured arm—before fleeing into the woods, sparking a four-hour manhunt. The individual, identified as an undocumented Honduran, was found hiding in a tree and possessing methamphetamine.

Mullin also criticized states like California and New York for issuing commercial driver's licenses without adequate verification, arguing that this practice endangers other motorists and harms businesses operating lawfully: "They wreak havoc on companies that play by the rules. What we're trying to do, through DHS and our state and local partners, is restore order and remove these unsafe drivers from our roads."

Operation Guardian aligns with a broader Trump administration campaign against undocumented commercial drivers. From January 2025 until the operation's date, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported 4,795 arrests related to commercial driver's licenses nationwide. The Cuban community in the U.S. has been repeatedly affected: in August 2026, ICE arrested a Cuban trucker in Florida with an expired license and a deportation order, and in September 2025, another Cuban was caught in a joint ICE raid in Oklahoma resulting in 120 arrests.

Tipton indicated that operations will persist: "The good news is we're seeing numbers decrease. That's positive, but we won't let up."