Digital platforms are denouncing the presence of a senior Interior Ministry official in the United States awaiting residency after serving for several years under the Castro brothers' dictatorship.
According to journalist Mario J. Pentón, who revealed the background of this character on his website, it was learned that his name is Héctor Alejandro Hernández Morales and he is 46 years old and currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida.
The reporter adds that the former lieutenant colonel of the MIMINT arrived in the United States in August of last year through a tourist visa and is currently waiting to be granted permanent residency in the United States. It is known that the former officer was born into a family with direct ties to State Security, as is the case with his father, Lázaro Cirilo Hernández, who was part of dictator Fidel Castro's group of bodyguards.
During his career within the ranks of the MININT, he quickly rose through the military ranks, which led him to occupy important strategic positions such as Chief of Police in the municipality of Morón Ciego de Ávila, as well as very specific missions providing personal security for senior officials and Fidel himself.
Hernández openly expressed that he saw his work as a means to perpetuate his father's legacy, safeguarding the physical and ethical integrity of the nation's leading figures. From a young age, Héctor Alejandro was instilled with respect for the Caribbean island's political figures, so much so that in 1991, when he was just 12 years old, he appeared on the cover of the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde alongside Fidel Castro at the first Pioneers' Congress.
Years later, in conversations with sympathetic media, he fondly recalled his close relationship with the commander, whom he described as "a man of extraordinary political acumen." One of his assignments included the northern keys of Ciego de Ávila, where he served as a State Security officer for more than ten years. This area is not only considered a significant tourist destination but also holds strategic importance in the military sphere.
Héctor Alejandro entered the United States with one of his daughters to join his wife, Yisel Cabrera, who was in the country with their other daughter receiving medical care for cancer. Rolando García, a relative of the family in question, provided them with assistance once they arrived in the U.S. However, this person has declined to comment on the matter.
Since his arrival in the country, the former Cuban military officer has adopted a discreet attitude: he deleted his social media accounts and remains away from the media spotlight. Since his arrival, he has shown no signs of discontent with his relationship with the Cuban government or remorse for having been a MININT officer, just as many Cubans continue to demand justice for the political prisoners unjustly imprisoned for protesting on July 11, 2021, in which he may have had some involvement, although there is no evidence of this so far.
The former officer is also not among the names on the list of 100 human rights violators provided by Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In recent years, concerns have grown regarding the arrival in the United States of people linked to the oppressive regime in Havana. Organizations such as the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights have reported that there are more than 100 identified repressors residing in the United States. In some cases, this has led to arrests, deportations, or even the return of some of their own free will.
Since February 2023, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba has recorded at least 117 incidents involving alleged repressors who have entered the country, mostly through immigration deception or initiatives such as humanitarian parole. Those implicated include prosecutors, judges, military personnel, and representatives of the Cuban Communist Party, who played a leading role after the events of July 11.
The situation once again raises the question of the arrival of former members of the government to the United States, as well as the urgency of more closely examining the backgrounds of those seeking immigration benefits. Is the United States taking the necessary measures to prevent representatives of authoritarian regimes from settling on its soil? This question becomes more relevant with the increase in similar situations.
