Screenshot via X/@DHSgov
Audio By Carbonatix
Back in June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a press release to highlight what they claim are the “worst of the worst illegal aliens” arrested in Florida, who could end up at Alligator Alcatraz, the controversial detention facility in the Florida Everglades.
Among the 11 men included in the press release was Roberto Mosquera del Peral, a 58-year-old Cuban migrant and father of two daughters currently being held at a maximum-security prison in the small African nation of Eswatini, which has a dire human rights record.
“On June 13, 2025, ICE Miami arrested Roberto Mosquera del Peral, an illegal alien from Cuba, who was convicted of assault, escape from custody, vehicle theft, aggravated assault of a police officer, and homicide,” the press release stated. “He is also a member of the Latin Kings gang.”
While DHS claims Mosquera is a murderer, court records show that he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder in Miami-Dade County in 1989 after he reportedly shot someone in the leg. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Mosquera served seven years in prison. He served an additional two years in prison in 2010 for unrelated criminal charges.
When third-country deportation flights resumed in July, the Trump administration sent Mosquera and four other men to Eswatini, the country in southern Africa formerly known as Swaziland. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said Mosquera was “convicted of first-degree murder.”
“NEW: a safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed,” McLaughlin wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on July 15. “This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back. These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities but thanks to @POTUS Trump @Sec_Noem they are off of American soil.”
When New Times asked DHS about the discrepancy between Mosquera’s court records and its social media posts about him, McLaughlin reiterated the agency’s previous statement.
“On June 13, 2025, Roberto Mosquera-Del Peral, an illegal alien from Cuba, was arrested by ICE federal law enforcement. Mosquera-Del Peral has been convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated battery of a police officer, grand theft-vehicle, and aggravated flight-eluding law enforcement reckless driving. He is also a confirmed Latin Kings gang member,” McLaughlin wrote in an email.
“Either because of his horrific crimes or some other reason, even Cuba didn’t want their citizen back. We found a third country to accept him. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we no longer allow terrorists and barbaric criminals to remain in the U.S.”
Last week, Mosquera’s attorney, Alma David, said the 58-year-old was on a hunger strike inside the Eswatini prison. On a GoFundMe page to raise money for her father, Monica Mosquera described him as an “amazing father and hardworking man.”
“My dad has always been someone who works hard and cares deeply for his family, and this situation has been very difficult for all of us,” the page reads.
She told WLPG Local 10 that her dad was a “super Trump supporter” prior to his deportation.
A Boca Raton charter company sent another group of migrants to Eswatini on October 6. Records revealed that the plane used belongs to Michael Dezer, the real estate developer and billionaire behind several Trump-branded properties in South Flroida.
