Florida state congressman names two dissidents, says they were jailed after social-media posts

Carlos Jiménez, a Florida state congressman, said he supports Camille Sayas and Ernesto Medina and that both were detained in Cuba after posting criticism of the government on social media.

Jiménez identified himself at the start of his statement: "Bueno, soy Carlos Jiménez, congresista del estado de la Florida." He said, "Estamos apoyando a Camille Sayas y también Ernesto Medina en su lucha para la libertad en Cuba." He told listeners the two were taken by Cuban authorities after publishing critical opinions online: "el régimen lo capturaron y están en la cárcel."

Jiménez said their whereabouts and condition are unknown and asked for prayers that they are safe: "No sabemos dónde están, también no sabemos si están bien, esperamos, vamos a rezar que sí." He framed the detentions as an example of why "este régimen se tiene que ir," and added that "El pueblo de cubano merece la libertad." He closed by saying, "Viva Cuba Libre."

The statement contains assertions by Jiménez about the cause of the detentions and the detainees' status; no on-the-record response from Cuban authorities was provided in the transcript, and Jiménez did not cite a specific source for the claim about the reason for the arrests. The whereabouts and condition of Camille Sayas and Ernesto Medina were described as unknown in the statement.