Cuban deportee with untreated abdominal hernia held in restraints after Equatorial Guinea diversion
Aug 20, 2026
Country of origin: Cuba

One of the Cuban men diverted from a Liberia-bound deportation flight to Equatorial Guinea arrived in Malabo still restrained, according to Meredyth Yoon, litigation director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, who represents several of the group. The man, identified by his family as Leonardo Sánchez, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, has a large abdominal hernia that left his insides visibly protruding, and he fell face-first onto the tarmac during the transfer. He had been scheduled for a tenth surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital before his deportation, and his mother and sister in Lehigh Acres, Florida, say they are now unsure whether that procedure will happen. He and roughly 40 other deportees are being held at the Bamy Hotel in Malabo, owned by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, where conditions have reportedly worsened, including guards accused of withholding meals and, in some instances, choking or beating detainees.
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