The Trump administration sent a Department of Justice plane to Cuba this week to bring back a 10-year-old child from Utah who was at the center of a disputed custody matter involving the child’s gender identity.
Authorities say the child traveled with Rose Inessa-Ethington, a transgender woman, and her partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington. Federal and state investigators allege Rose took the child to Cuba without the permission of the biological mother, who shared custody. The couple were arrested in the U.S. on charges of international parental kidnapping and are to be returned to Utah to face those charges, according to court filings.
A federal criminal complaint filed in Utah says the couple left with the child for Canada in late March on what they described as a camping trip that also included Blue’s 3-year-old. After notifying the child’s mother that they had reached Canada, the two adults allegedly turned off their phones and later flew from Vancouver to Mexico and then to Cuba on April 1.
Court papers do not state that the pair actually planned to obtain gender-affirming surgery in Cuba or how they would have done so; they note that such surgery for minors is not legal in Cuba. Investigators reported that Blue withdrew $10,000 before the trip and that agents found a note at the couple’s home with instructions from a Washington, D.C., mental health therapist referencing a $10,000 payment and “instructions on gender affirming medical care for children.” The note did not mention Cuba.
The search began after the child failed to return to the mother as scheduled on April 3, prompting a missing-person report filed with Logan, Utah, police. Investigators initially treated the matter as custodial interference. A family member later raised concerns about potential surgical treatment, though police said there was no physical evidence substantiating that claim at the time.
A Utah state judge ordered the child returned to the mother on April 13. Three days later a federal magistrate judge issued arrest warrants for Rose and Blue Inessa-Ethington. Cuban authorities located the group and, with U.S. officials, deported them to the United States aboard a government plane; the couple were arraigned in federal court in Richmond, Virginia. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak in Utah said the 10-year-old was returned to the biological mother. FBI and U.S. attorney’s office representatives declined to comment on the status of the 3-year-old who had been with the group.
The custody dispute predates the trip. An online fundraiser started five years ago by Blue, titled “Help a Trans Mother Keep Custody of Her Child,” raised $9,766 and described efforts to obtain a court order to maintain Rose’s parenting time after an ex relocated. The fundraiser described the child as “gender open.” Family members told investigators the child was assigned male at birth but identifies as a girl and alleged Rose influenced that identity, according to an April 16 FBI affidavit.
The use of a DOJ plane in the case comes as the Trump administration has sought to restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors and increased scrutiny of providers. The administration moved in December to curtail such care for children, a shift that spurred legal challenges from about a third of U.S. states. Medical groups note that gender-affirming surgery for minors is rare; major organizations advise careful, case-by-case evaluation, and fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive medications like hormones or puberty blockers.
In Cuba, gender-affirming surgeries are prohibited for minors. Surgeries for adults are performed in the public health system at designated hospitals and require approval by a medical commission after comprehensive medical and psychological review, a process that can take years.