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The head of mission at the Embassy of the United States in Cuba, Mike Hammer, dedicated this Sunday, Father's Day, to raising awareness about the pain of Cuban families whose children remain imprisoned for political reasons, and posted on Facebook screenshots from the video calls he held that same morning with several parents of political prisoners.
"Today, this Father's Day should be a day of happiness, but for too many Cuban fathers, it is not. In fact, it is a difficult day that causes more pain," Hammer wrote in the message shared by the embassy.
Among the parents he spoke with is Pastor Elier Muir, whose son Jonathan David Muir Burgos, 16 years old, is currently detained in the Canaleta prison, in Ciego de Ávila, a high-security facility for adults.
The teenager was arrested in March 2026 in Morón and charged with sabotage, a crime that in Cuba carries sentences of between seven and 15 years. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience through an urgent action in May 2026.
Hammer also called Wilber Aguilar, the father of Walnier Aguilar Rivera, who was arrested on July 20, 2021, and accused of sedition following the protests of July 11. In January 2026, Wilber Aguilar had reported new pressures from prison guards against his son.
Other parents who participated in the video calls were Leonel Porras, father of Yasmani Porras Pérez; José Cazañas Luzardo, father of Leydiana Cazañas Amador, who was detained on March 29, 2023; and Jorge Martín Blanco, father of brothers Nadir Martín Perdomo and Jorge Martín Perdomo, arrested on July 17, 2021, in San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, and sentenced to six and eight years in prison, respectively, following the protests of 11J in Cuba.
The embassy's message also expressed solidarity with the parents who are political prisoners themselves and remain separated from their children, as well as with those living in exile unable to be with their families.
“May this be the last Father's Day that you are apart!”, Hammer concluded.
This gesture is part of a public diplomacy strategy that Hammer has maintained since taking on the role of mission chief on November 14, 2024.
The diplomat has traveled through several Cuban provinces, visited activists and families of detainees, and shared those meetings on social media.
On June 12, he met with former political prisoner Fernando Ginarte Mora and his children at the official residence of the embassy in Havana, and on May 29, he visited San Antonio de los Baños to meet with the mother of a political prisoner from the 11J.
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