Centenarian Cuban Grandmother Reunites with Family in the U.S. Thanks to Humanitarian Parole
Victoria Domínguez Guzmán, a 100-year-old grandmother from Camagüey, Cuba, was finally able to embrace her family in Nebraska after being granted humanitarian parole in the United States.
Her emotional reunion took place on January 20, 2023 when Victoria landed at Miami International Airport on a flight from Camagüey, according to a report by Cubanos por el Mundo.
Long Journey to Reunification
Nearly a year ago, Victoria’s family started the process to get her humanitarian parole in the U.S.
Her grandson, Elier Morell, revealed that they filed the parole petition back in February 2022. Morell, who fled Cuba on a raft in 2007 and now lives in Tampa, stressed the importance of having his grandmother close, especially after tragically losing his mother at a young age.
100 Years of Hardship and Perseverance
Known as “La Gallega,” Victoria was born in Alto Potrero, a rural town in Vertientes, Camagüey. She married Spanish citizen Adolfo Moreira, whose farm was seized by the Cuban regime in 1959 after Castro came to power.
The so-called “Cuban revolution” took away the farm owned by Victoria’s Galician husband Adolfo. “The revolution needs these lands,” the bearded rebels told the Spanish native as they confiscated his parcel.
Nicknamed “La Guayabera,” Victoria sold guavas in her community over the years to make ends meet. Despite the adversities, the centenarian remains sharp and can recall Cuba’s successive presidents, from Menocal and Prío to Batista and Castro, whom she refers to simply as “the other one.”
Emotional Miami Arrival
Victoria’s arrival in the U.S. was captured in touching photographs shared by her grandson. They show the elderly woman smiling, bundled up, and holding a cell phone.
Her grandson Elier couldn’t hide his joy at having his beloved grandmother here. The rafter expressed that they applied for her parole back in February 2022 and anxiously awaited her arrival for almost a year.
Starting a New Chapter in America
From Miami, Victoria traveled to Nebraska where she now resides with family. She is one of over 200,000 Cubans who have entered the U.S. legally through humanitarian parole since the program began in January 2022.
While Victoria enjoys the company of her relatives in a country where scarcity of food and medicine can no longer affect her, thousands more are still waiting for their chance to leave the island safely and legally thanks to the parole program.
