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Jonathan Muir Burgos, a 16-year-old and son of evangelical pastor Elier Muir Ávila, has been detained since last Monday, March 16, at the Technical Investigations Department (DTI) in Ciego de Ávila, after being arrested along with his father when both attended a police summons in Morón. This was reported by opposition member Yoaxis Marcheco Suárez and social media activists.
Pastor Muir Ávila was released the same day at 5:30 PM, but Jonathan was taken to the DTI, where authorities threatened him with charges "to the fullest extent of the law" for his alleged involvement in the protests on March 13 and 14 in that city.
The situation of the minor raises additional alarm due to his health condition. Jonathan suffers from dyshidrosis on his skin, which has caused an infection from beta-hemolytic streptococcus and staphylococcus, a condition that has put his life in danger several times and requires ongoing medication.
His specialist warns that the condition can lead to rheumatic fever. "The child goes into crisis every three months" due to a lack of access to appropriate treatment, said his father, who has sought help on social media to obtain the necessary medications.
Pastor Muir Ávila publicly expressed his distress: "I would have preferred a thousand times that they had kept him in prison instead of his son." There are also rumors that the regime plans to hold a public trial for those arrested following the protests in Morón, which the teenager may be subjected to, said Marcheco Suárez.
The organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) condemned the detention of the minor. "The detention of a 16-year-old child with a serious medical condition simply for attempting to exercise his freedom of expression is inconceivable," stated Anna Lee Stangl, CSW's Director of Advocacy.
Stangl also pointed out that "the response from President Miguel Díaz-Canel and the Communist Party of Cuba is to round up and imprison those who dare to demand change," despite the hunger crisis, shortages of medicine, and the electrical collapse that the island is experiencing.
The case is part of a documented pattern of repression against independent religious communities. The Independent Church Time of Harvest, led by Pastor Muir Ávila in Morón, operates outside state control. In 2024, authorities warned him that only churches recognized by the Party could operate.
The Reverend Mario Félix Lleonart Barroso has drawn a direct parallel with the arrest of Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo and his 17-year-old son David during the protests of July 11, 2021, highlighting a systematic pattern of using minors as a means of pressure against religious families.
The protests in Morón on March 13 and 14, in which the regime links Jonathan, are part of the largest wave of mobilizations against the dictatorship since July 11, 2021. Hundreds of demonstrators surrounded the local Communist Party headquarters shouting "Down with the dictatorship!" and "Freedom!", set party furniture on fire in the street, and advanced toward the police station.
Authorities responded with dogs, internet shutdowns, and a wave of arrests. Cubalex reports at least 14 people detained in the context of the protests in March 2026.
Cuba ranks 24th in the 2026 World Watch List by Open Doors among the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
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