A member of the Cuban cycling team...

A member of the Cuban cycling team who sought American assistance in defecting to the United States was jailed in Monterrey, Mexico, a local newspaper reported.

The daily El Norte reported that Roger Vazquez Vazquez, 25, abandoned his team in Mexico City last week and came north, hoping to defect to the United States. The U.S. Consulate in Monterrey said it could not comment on the report that Vazquez asked for political asylum.

Consulate spokesman Bob Brown said, however, that U.S. policy in such cases is “to give them assistance if possible.”

El Norte said Vazquez was apprehended Sunday as he attempted to pass through a federal migration checkpoint at Nuevo Laredo about 16 miles south of the U.S. border city of Laredo, Tex.

The newspaper said Monterrey cyclists whom Vazquez met in Mexico City gave him refuge and took him to the U.S. Consulate here, where his case was being considered. Vazquez became impatient with U.S. authorities and tried to leave the country on his own, the report said.