“HE HIJACKED A PLANE… THEN A JUDGE SET HIM FREE.” ✈️⚖️😳 — AFTER SERVING DECADES FOR A SHOCKING MID-AIR CRIME, HIS RELEASE IS NOW IGNITING A FIERCE NATIONAL BACKLASH A convicted Cuban plane hijacker who spent more than 20 years behind bars was being held by ICE while awaiting deportation — until a federal judge ordered him released after ruling he had been detained for too long. The decision has sparked outrage from the Department of Homeland Security, with officials arguing that a dangerous criminal has now been returned to the community under supervision. As the political battle over immigration enforcement intensifies, the case is quickly becoming one of the most controversial releases of the year.

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Plane hijacker awaiting deportation freed by Dem-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.

Maikel Guerra Morales in a DHS handout image.
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
Newspaper clipping about a Cuban airliner hijacked to the U.S.
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.

“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 in a airplane hijacking leave the Key West,Fla. federal court building Thursday, March 20, 2003 after making their first court appearance in the case.
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
Maikel Guerra Morales embraces his mother after reuniting with her.
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.
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.

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.

ICE intended to deport Guerra Morales to Mexico, but he might end up directly in Cuba, court documents show.

He is believed to be living in Miami.

SOURCE: NYPOST