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U.S. Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar reported on Monday that Jonathan David Muir Burgos, a 16-year-old Cuban teenager, remains kidnapped by the Cuban regime after being detained for his alleged involvement in the protests in Morón, Ciego de Ávila.
"Jonathan Muir remains kidnapped by the Cuban regime. Confined, threatened, without medical attention, and subjected to psychological torture... for daring to raise his voice," wrote Salazar on her X account, citing the complaint from the organization Cuba Decide regarding the denial of the habeas corpus petition 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.
The father was released hours later, but the minor was transferred to the Technical Investigations Department (DTI) of Ciego de Ávila, where he remains detained.
Cuban authorities link him to the protests on March 13 and 14 in Morón, where residents of the El Vaquerito popular council marched chanting "Freedom!" and "Homeland and Life," set fire to the municipal headquarters of the Communist Party and disrupted the police station.
The teenager's health condition worsens the situation: Jonathan suffers from severe dyshidrosis, beta-hemolytic streptococcus, and staphylococcus, illnesses that require constant treatment and have put his life at risk on previous occasions.
According to his family, he is receiving inadequate medical care within the DTI.
The minor's lawyer requested a change of precautionary measure to send him home while awaiting trial, but the court denied the request.
Cuba Decide also filed a habeas corpus petition before the Provincial People's Court of Ciego de Ávila, which was also denied on March 26.
Salazar was unequivocal in describing the nature of the regime: "Cuba is not silent. It is being forcefully silenced by a regime that sustains itself by spreading fear, breaking young people, and oppressing its own people to avoid collapse."
Other American legislators have also called for the release of the minor: Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart made a statement on March 25, and Carlos Giménez spoke out the following day.
The organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide also condemned the arrest, stating that the imprisonment of a minor for exercising their freedom of expression is unacceptable.
The case of Jonathan is part of a broader repression documented by Prisoners Defenders, which records 1,214 political prisoners in Cuba as of February 2026, including 31 minors.
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