The FBI sent a government plane to Cuba to prevent a transgender parent from providing her child with gender-affirming care.
According to court filings first reported by The New York Times, federal authorities took the unusual step as part of an international parental kidnapping investigation stemming from a custody dispute. The FBI believes Rose Inessa-Ethington, a transgender woman, brought her 10-year-old child from a previous relationship to Cuba to undergo gender-affirming medical care, which authorities characterized in filings as potential transition-related treatment, over the objections of the child’s biological mother.
The U.S. Department of Justice on April 21 announced the child had been reunited with her biological mother. “We are grateful to law enforcement for working swiftly to return the child to the biological mother,” said Utah Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak.
A federal complaint filed in Utah courts shows the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children unit in Salt Lake City investigated Inessa-Ethington and her current partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington. The child, according to the complaint, was assigned male at birth but identifies as female, and had been splitting time between Rose and the child’s biological mother under an existing custody arrangement.
Related: Minnesota’s largest pediatric system restarts gender-affirming care for trans minors
Related: What is gender-affirming care, who uses it, and do they regret it?
The complaint alleges Rose claimed to be taking the child on a camping trip to Canada, but instead traveled to Cuba, and then ceased communication with the child’s biological mother after March 28. The child was supposed to be returned to the other biological parent on April 3.
State courts in Utah on April 13 ordered the child to be returned and awarded sole custody to her biological mother.
The Justice Department on April 21 announced the child had been reunited with her mother, and that Rose and Blue Inessa-Ethington face charges of international parental kidnapping under federal law.
President Donald Trump, at the start of his second term, issued an executive order banning gender-affirming care for minors. While federal courts have blocked enforcement of that policy, the government’s response in this case suggests federal authorities are still pursuing aggressive intervention in disputes involving such care.
The episode comes amid a broader clash between medical evidence and political action on transgender care. In Utah, for example, Republican lawmakers have continued to restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors even after commissioning a comprehensive state report that found such treatments improve mental health outcomes and reduce suicide risk among transgender youth. The disconnect has become emblematic of a wider national debate, in which policymakers have moved forward with bans or restrictions despite research they themselves sought out.
Related: Doctors’ group says American Medical Association didn’t retreat on gender-affirming care for minors
Related: Gender-affirming care improves transgender lives, according to largest survey of trans people
In the case, a complaint filed by U.S. attorneys cites concerns from one side of the child’s family that she only identifies as female because of “manipulation by Rose Inessa-Ethington.”
The complaint says Blue Inessa-Ethington withdrew $10,000 before the planned family vacation and did not return to work as expected in April. Law enforcement ultimately determined the couple had traveled to Cuba with the child. Authorities believed the family did not plan to return to the U.S.
Experts told the New York Times it was highly unusual for the federal government to dispatch an official plane to intervene in a custody dispute.
“This is bizarre, highly unusual,” said Jay Groob, president of American Investigative Services. “I’ve never heard of that happening.”
But authorities said the priority was simply the child’s safety.
“Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child," said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Bohls in a statement. "This case reflects the strength of partnerships in locating victims, supporting reunification, and ensuring accountability.”
