The Republican congressman from Florida, Carlos A. Giménez, published a video on Thursday on X condemning the detention of Jonathan David Muir Burgos, a 16-year-old detained in Cuba since March 16 following the protests in Morón, and is demanding his immediate release.
In the video, Giménez described the situation with outrage: "I am looking at the face of a 16-year-old boy and I am more than outraged. Jonathan Muir should be in a classroom, playing sports, and dreaming of his future. Instead, he is behind bars, another victim of the relentless repression of the Castro regime against its own people."
The case coincides with the news that the Ciego de Ávila Court denied the habeas corpus filed on behalf of the minor.
Jonathan was arrested on March 16 when he went with his father, the evangelical pastor Elier Muir Ávila, to a police summons in Morón, Ciego de Ávila.
The father was released that same day at 5:30 PM, but the minor was taken to the Technical Investigations Department (DTI) in Ciego de Ávila.
The authorities link him to the protests on March 13 and 14 in Morón and threaten to prosecute him "with the full weight of the law."
This Thursday, the Provincial People's Court of Ciego de Ávila rejected the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of the minor, closing one of the few legal avenues available to contest his detention.
The independent observatory Alas Tensas warned about the seriousness of the decision in a case involving a minor.
Jonathan in danger
The case raises further alarm over Jonathan's health condition.
The teenager suffers from dyshidrosis on the skin with infections caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcus and staphylococcus, a condition that has put his life in danger several times and requires constant medication.
His father reported that the minor is not receiving adequate medical attention and is showing psychological deterioration: "My son has been psychologically affected, we can tell. Today marks the ninth day of confinement, and last Monday, when we visited him, he already felt like 15 days had passed," declared Pastor Muir Ávila.
Giménez stated that Jonathan was arrested "simply for taking to the streets to demand change" and concluded: "Freedom is not a suggestion, it is a right. And Jonathan deserves to regain it now."
The congressman's complaint adds to those of other Cuban-American legislators.
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar had already denounced the imprisonment of the Cuban minor on Tuesday, describing the arrest as a demonstration of the regime's "brutality," and Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart mentioned it on Wednesday while demanding the release of political prisoners in Cuba.
The arrest of Jonathan is part of the protests on March 13 and 14 in Morón, regarded as the most significant since the events of July 11, 2021, during which hundreds of demonstrators surrounded the headquarters of the Communist Party shouting "Down with the dictatorship!" and set fire to party furniture.
Cubalex documented at least 156 protests and 47 arrests in Cuba up to March 17, while the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights reported 35 repressive actions between March 13 and 16, including the detention of two minors. Prisoners Defenders registered 1,214 political prisoners in Cuba in February 2026, a record number.
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