US says Cuban nationals detained after termination of legal status

Three Cuban nationals were taken into federal custody after US authorities terminated their legal status following allegations of ties to what officials described as a Cuban government-linked influence network, according to a statement from the US State Department spokesperson.

The announcement was made in a July 1, 2026 press statement by spokesperson Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, who said the action followed a directive associated with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Pigott said federal agents apprehended Carlos Antonio Lloga Dominguez, along with his wife and son, and that they are now “in federal custody pending removal from our country.”

He described Lloga Dominguez as having “spent more than a decade working as a foreign subversive for the Communist Cuban regime’s premier influence and intelligence front group in the United States,” alleging long-term ties to the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).

According to the statement, Lloga Dominguez had worked for ICAP for more than a decade and “has continued to maintain ties to the transnational communist subversion network throughout his time residing in our nation.”

The spokesperson further said ICAP had been designated for sanctions under Executive Order 14404 earlier this month, and characterized it as “the central node in a sprawling Cuban intelligence and influence operation, claiming to span more than 2,000 organizations across more than 150 countries.”

The statement also referenced ICAP’s leadership, noting that its current president, Fernando González Llort, is “a convicted Cuban spy who served 15 years in U.S. prison for his role in the infamous Wasp Network.”

Pigott added that ICAP “maintains an outsized footprint across the United States, trafficking in vile anti-American propaganda, cultivating pro-Havana regime activists and politicians, and lobbying federal, state and local politicians on behalf of the Cuban dictatorship.”

The statement continued: “The organization facilitates close working relationships between Havana and radical U.S. groups, using America’s far left milieu as a vehicle to export Cuba’s Communist revolution to the United States.”

Pigott said that under current policy direction, “America will never become home for Cuban Communist regime thugs who peddle propaganda, run foreign influence operations, or seek to wage revolution against American civilization.”

He added that under Executive Order 14404, “all ICAP property and interests in property are blocked and any transactions with ICAP are prohibited absent an express authorization by the Departments of Treasury or State,” warning that “any foreign aliens involved in ICAP’s anti-American subversion operations should expect to soon find themselves on an ICE deportation flight.”