Family: Man detained by Cuban government

MIAMI (WSVN) -- A woman is speaking out saying her husband is sitting in a Cuban jail cell for a crime, his family insists, he did not commit.

Eighteen days ago 50-year-old Jose-Ramon Darias went to Cuba to bring his terminally ill father in law home.

Two days later, his plane landed in Miami but Darias wasn't on it. He made it to the airport but never got on board. "My husband is an American citizen who legally traveled to Cuba with a U.S passport and he's been held in Cuba with false accusations," said his wife Vivian.

Viviana Darias is living a nightmare. Her husband, and father of their teenage son is being held in a Cuban prison. "I think they have mistaken him by another person," she says.

Darias is accused of trafficking false documents. "My husband is important to us for my family my son," said Vivian.

In January, Darias traveled to Cuba to bring his father in law, confined to a wheel chair, home. "My dad has cancer, he came to visit us for two months but he's getting worse," said Vivian.

When he landed in Cuba he was questioned for two hours, released but officials told him to remain close.

Two days later just before getting on his flight to return home Darias was arrested. "He checked in at the airport and he never arrived to the United States," she said.

Darias's wife is reaching out to politicians and is writing letters on Darias behalf.

Representative David Rivera said on the phone, traveling to Cuba is dangerous. "I think everybody needs to be aware that they are at risk every time they attempt to travel to Cuba, and that they can expect only the worst kind of treatment from the Castro dictatorship," said Rivera. "They can never expect to have any kind of legal protections while traveling to a totalitarian communist dictatorship like Cuba."

Meanwhile, a wife and a son just want their husband and father back home. "This is a difficult time that we are having right now. I have to wake up everyday and go to work and try to be normal," said Vivian.

Darias health is in danger. He suffers from high blood pressure and only took enough medication for three days. Tomorrow will be 19 days away from home.

7 News tried to reach the Cuban government but got no response.

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