A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent spotted a strange bulge in a traveler's pants after he stepped off a flight from Havana at Miami International Airport this past Sunday — and inside, agents say, were 10 live birds stuffed into six plastic tubes sewn into pockets in his underwear. The traveler, identified as Alberto Hernandez Castillo, a Cuban national with lawful permanent residence in the United States, now faces a federal charge of smuggling goods into the country.
According to the Miami Herald, the agent noticed the bulge after Hernandez Castillo arrived at MIA on Sunday and discovered six clear plastic tubes wrapped in tape, with mesh affixed to their openings, tucked into the sewn-in pockets. Inside those tubes were eight yellow-faced grassquits and two blue grosbeaks — small, brightly colored finches and songbirds native to parts of the Caribbean and South America. The criminal complaint included a photo of the birds perched in a cage, the paper reported.
Per the Miami Herald's account of the criminal complaint, Hernandez Castillo told agents the birds were for his personal use before invoking his right to remain silent and declining to answer further questions. He is being represented by a federal public defender, who did not immediately respond to the newspaper's request for comment. The Herald reported that it had separately asked Customs and Border Protection about what would happen to the birds, though no answer on their disposition had been made public at the time of that report.
A Smuggling Method With a Long History at MIA
This is far from the first time Miami's airport has seen birds concealed on a traveler's body. In December 2012, Miami resident Alberto Diaz Gonzalez pleaded guilty to federal smuggling charges after Customs and Border Protection officers at Miami International Airport found 16 Cuban bullfinches hidden inside his pants following a flight from Havana, according to CBS News. Four years later, in July 2016, federal prosecutors secured a conviction against Miami resident Hovary Muniz, who was intercepted at the same airport attempting to smuggle nine live birds — including a yellow-faced grassquit and a blue grosbeak, the same species seized this week — from Havana hidden in plastic tubes inside his underwear and a fanny pack, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
Why Songbirds Command Hundreds of Dollars Underground
The financial incentive behind this recurring smuggling pattern traces back to South Florida's underground market for traditional Cuban bird-singing competitions, where vocal male birds can command hundreds of dollars, according to a 2019 report by WLRN. Brighter male coloring and territorial singing also contribute to songbirds' appeal in the underground market.
Florida wildlife officials drafted a bird-trap rule in February 2019, and it took effect October 3. Most finches hidden in a suit do not survive the trip.
What Hernandez Castillo Could Face in Court
Hernandez Castillo's single charge is for smuggling goods into the United States. Bird smuggling also poses disease risks.
A recent case out west offers a sentencing benchmark for how federal courts have handled similar undeclared bird importations. In March, a federal judge sentenced a California man to three months in prison after Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted 17 protected parrots and parakeets hidden under a car seat at a U.S. port of entry, as Hoodline reported at the time. It remains unclear what ultimate disposition awaits the 10 birds seized from Hernandez Castillo, or whether prosecutors will pursue additional charges as his case moves forward.
