Cubans sentenced in the U.S. for attempted marijuana theft: The reasons behind the crime

Three Cubans were sentenced this week in the United States for attempting to steal an illegal marijuana crop in Michigan, in a case that intertwines crime, migration, and economic desperation.

Yoany Álvarez Antuna, 42 years old, Addier Mejía Torres, 50, and Andy Gómez Niebla, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, after attempting to rob a barn filled with plants and processed marijuana in Coleman, Michigan, in July 2023.

The three were sentenced on June 5 to prison terms ranging from 40 to 46 months, under the Hobbs Act, according to information from the local newspaper Midland Daily News.

Álvarez Antuna has been in the United States for over 20 years, where he has worked in construction and agriculture. His lawyer explained to the court that the Cuban joined the program in hopes of helping pay for his oldest daughter's nursing program.

Mejía Torres, who arrived without papers in 2023 after fleeing the Cuban regime, also worked as an agricultural laborer and has no criminal record. "His only intention was to send money to his wife and their two young children in Cuba," his defense claimed.

Although they were armed, the evidence confirmed that the only shots fired were by the owner of the place, who wounded Mejía-Torres during the botched robbery.

A desperate attempt in the midst of the immigration limbo

The case took on federal implications due to the magnitude of the operation: security cameras captured several masked men armed with weapons, tools, and camouflage breaking into the property at 2:30 a.m. on July 16, 2023. Shortly thereafter, six suspects were arrested, three of whom are still awaiting sentencing or trial.

In total, authorities seized 227 plants and 62 kilos of marijuana. It has not been confirmed whether the owners of the cultivation face charges for operating without a license.

The federal judge Thomas Ludington issued the sentences, but the fate of those involved does not end there. Mejía Torres and another defendant face deportation orders, although the tense relationship between the U.S. and Cuba could slow down those processes, leaving them in a migratory limbo.

In their final statements, the three Cubans expressed remorse and assured that they would use their time in pretrial detention to train and learn English. They asked the court to consider not only the crime but also the circumstances that led them to it: poverty, exile, desperation.

The other sentenced individuals, identified as Roberto Padrón Álvarez, Yuan Biart González, and Jorge García Santiago, mostly from the province of Matanzas, also faced charges of armed robbery in residences and conspiracy, according to the booking photos published on the Midland Police profile on Facebook in July 2023.

According to information from Midland Daily News, earlier this year, Padrón Álvarez, who has lived in the United States since he was 12 years old and has three children in Florida, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. His attorney requested a sentence of 57 months, citing remorse and a willingness to take responsibility.

Yuan Biart González pleaded guilty to the same charge and to possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking offense. Both are awaiting sentencing.

On his part, García Santiago, 40 years old, remains accused.