Report: Dissident On 2 Month Hunger Strike Dies In Cuban Jail

MIAMI (CBS4) - After more than 50 days on a hunger strike, Cuban political prisoner Wilmar Villar Mendoza has reportedly died.

The news was first reported by Cuban blogger, Yoanni Sanchez, who posted the information on her Twitter feed. According to her tweet,  she spoke to his wife Maritza and she confirmed his death Thursday evening.  They have yet to let her see her husband's body.

Villar Mendoza  was arrested on  Nov. 14 in a peaceful protest against the Castro regime.  He started his hunger strike on Nov. 24 in protest  of his 4 year jail sentence.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen released a statement Thursday evening before the reported death of Villar Mendoza.

"Mr. Villar was sentenced to a 4 year prison sentence simply because he participated in a peaceful protest against the brutality of the Castro brothers. It is simply unacceptable that this takes place 90 miles from U.S. shores when popular uprisings have erupted against totalitarian regimes in other parts of the globe," said Ros-Lehtinen.