Fury as Plane Hijacker Awaiting Deportation Is Freed by Democrat-Appointed Activist Judge
MIAMI –– A criminal who hijacked a plane from Cuba to Florida in 2003 and served 20 years in prison had been in ICE custody awaiting deportation — till a Dem-appointed judge dumped him back on the street last week.
Cuban national Miakel Guerra Morales — who assaulted crew members during his terrifying midair hijacking — was detained by ICE in December, then ordered freed July 8 by Florida Judge John E. Steele, who said he’d been in custody too long.
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday railed against the Bill Clinton-nominated federal judge’s decision to release Guerra Morales.
Miakel Guerra Morales, a criminal who hijacked a plane from Cuba to Florida in 2003 and served 20 years in prison, had been in ICE custody awaiting deportation — till a Dem-appointed judge dumped him back on the street last week.DHS
The story about the hijacking that appeared in The Post on March 20, 2003.New York Post archives
“This activist judge forced ICE to release a criminal illegal alien who was convicted and sentenced to 22 years for hijacking a plane back into American communities,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis raged in a statement.
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“This is yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our country.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the detention and removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country,” she said.
Guerra Morales was among at least a dozen Cuban nationals who boarded a commuter plane in Nueva Gerona, Cuba, on March 19, 2003.
The six Cubans arrested for an airplane hijacking leave the Key West, Fla., federal court building Thursday, March 20, 2003, after making their first court appearance in the case.AP
Florida Judge John E. Steele released Morales from ICE custody on July 8, 2026.Telemundo 51 Miami
Two Cuban Airliners are seen parked near each other at the Monroe County Airport in Key West, Florida, April 1, 2003.Marc Serota
He ended up assaulting its crew members and forcing the pilot to fly to Key West, according to the order for his release from ICE detention.
Guerra Morales was eventually arrested by the US Marshals Service and convicted of aircraft piracy and conspiracy to interfere with a flight crew and sentenced to 22 years behind bars.
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He appears to have served at least 20 years in prison, according to documents.
ICE took him into custody in December 2025, but after seven months, Judge Steele ordered him released under supervision again, meaning agents must try to monitor him before they can deport him.
