MIAMI — Earlier this week, Republicans blocked a measure from Democrats that aimed to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers ahead of the administration’s next move on Cuba.

As the island’s energy crisis deepens, a growing number of Cuban families say another emergency is unfolding.

In Little Havana, Ailex Marcano says she is constantly living in prayer — and in pain.

“Freedom for my son -- I beg you, Lord,” she said.

Her only child, Ángel Jesús, has been in a Cuban prison for the past five years.

She says the 31-year-old P.E. teacher was detained after taking part in the historic “Patria y Vida” protests of 2021.

Activist groups say he is one of an estimated 1,200 men and women jailed for protesting against the Cuban government — a number they say continues to rise.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recently said in an interview that there are no political prisoners in Cuba.

Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as Antúnez, says he spent years behind bars in Cuba after speaking out against communism.

He says his brother, religious leader Loreto Hernández García, and his sister-in-law, Donaida Pérez, are serving 7- and 8-year sentences for their roles in human rights demonstrations on the island.

He says the issue of political prisoners is being overlooked.

“It pains me -- the issue of political prisoners,” he said.

He also believes that, unlike Venezuela, Cuba will not see change without a complete shift in government.

When asked about freeing political prisoners, Díaz-Canel again said there are none in Cuba.

Both García and Marcano are now living in exile in Miami.

They say they fear for their loved ones’ safety -- and are speaking out because their families asked them to.

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