State Department says U.S. embassy is following detentions of independent Cuban creators, voices support

The U.S. embassy in Havana and the State Department in Washington are closely following reports of the detention of independent creators Camille Sayas Pérez and Ernesto Ricardo Medina, Natalia Molano, the State Department’s Spanish‑language spokesperson, said during a radio interview on Thursday.

Asked about the detentions, Molano said embassy staff receive reports from family members and the public and that Washington issued messages over the weekend expressing support for Camille Sayas Pérez and Ernesto Ricardo Medina. She said the cases are “very sad” and characterize a pattern in which the government treats young communicators as a threat.

Molano linked the detentions to a broader pattern of repression and economic hardship, saying the Cuban people have endured a humanitarian crisis for years and asserting that the regime has been unable to provide economic opportunity. In the interview she said the regime has “1,000,000 dollars abroad” while people face “extreme poverty” at home; she framed the detentions as part of a reaction to growing public expression by young Cubans.

Molano said the United States supports “to the fullest” those who are expressing themselves and urged the international community to do the same. She did not describe any specific U.S. enforcement action, arrest requests, or sanctions tied to the detentions during the interview, and she said embassy personnel are prepared to travel to observe developments when travel restrictions permit.

The interview did not include statements from the Cuban authorities, legal representatives of the detained creators, or independent human‑rights organizations; those perspectives were not provided in the program.