Man smuggled live birds in his underpants from Cuba to Miami, feds say

David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Oct 6, 2026

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MIAMI — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent working at Miami International Airport noticed a strange bulge in the pants of a man who arrived on a flight from Havana, Cuba Sunday.

Alberto Hernandez Castillo, a Cuban national with lawful permanent residence in the United States, was also acting nervous, the agent said.

The agent checked Castillo’s carry-on bag and fanny pack and found no contraband. But, when he brought him to a room for a pat-down, things got interesting.

The agent found six clear, plastic tubes, each wrapped in tape with mesh affixed to the openings. The tubes were wedged in pockets sewn into Castillo’s underwear, a Homeland Security Investigations criminal complaint states. And, in the tubes were a total of 10 live birds, agents say.

There were eight yellow-faced grassquits and two blue grosbeaks, according to the complaint. The former species is a finch found in southeast Mexico and South America and throughout the islands of the Greater Antilles, including Cuba, according to the ornithology website Birds of the World.

The blue grosbeak is a species of songbirds found in many parts of South America, Birds of the World says.

Castillo initially told the Customs agent that the birds were for his “personal use,” but then declined to answer any more questions, invoking his right to remain silent, according to the complaint. He is being represented by a federal public defender, who did not immediately respond to the Miami Herald’s request for comment.

He faces a charge of smuggling goods into the United States.

The Miami Herald reached out to Customs and Border Protection asking about the plans for the birds. The complaint contained a photo of the birds perched in a cage.