This Is Why the US Sent a Plane to Get a 10-Year-Old From Cuba

A Utah custody dispute has turned into an international kidnapping case involving a 10-year-old and an alleged plan for gender-related medical care in Cuba. Federal prosecutors say Rose Inessa-Ethington—who NBC Miami reports is the child's biological father, with relatives noting she transitioned to female after the child was born—and her partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, told the child's biological mother, IDed only as LB in court filings, that they were heading from Utah to Canada for a camping trip in late March with the 10-year-old and Blue's own 3-year-old.

Instead, per a release, the group allegedly slipped across the border on foot into British Columbia, flew to Mexico City, then continued on to Havana after a stop in the Mexican city of Merida, per the CBC. The child's biological mother contacted authorities when they didn't return to Utah on April 3, saying the shared-custody agreement had been violated. An FBI affidavit details "extensive" preparations that were apparently made: Rose quitting her job, Blue taking $10,000 in cash out of the bank, belongings being placed in storage, and the gathering of Spanish study notes and visa plans.

Investigators say they also found therapist instructions concerning gender-affirming care for children and a $10,000 payment request. The affidavit notes concerns that the child was taken to Cuba for gender-related surgery before puberty, which is typically rare among minors in the US. In court papers, the child was described as a "biological male who identifies as a female," per NBC.

The CBC reports that Cuban authorities located the group last week, and the Trump administration then dispatched a government plane to bring the child back on Monday. It's not exactly clear what the couple's plan was once they got to Cuba, as gender-affirming surgery isn't lawful there, per NBC. LB now has sole custody of the 10-year-old; it's not clear what the status of the 3-year-old is. The Inessa-Ethingtons appeared in federal court in Virginia on Tuesday and will be prosecuted in Utah, where they'll face federal charges of intentional parental kidnapping and aiding and abetting. State charges were also handed down for custodial interference.