Ernesto Martin, a prominent Republican activist in Hialeah, Florida, has been arrested in an undercover prostitution sting after agreeing to pay $60 for sex to a police officer posing as an escort. Martin, who has worked alongside Hialeah's Republican mayor Bryan Calvo, responded by insisting that his intimate life was nobody else's concern, saying his shame was reserved for his family. The case is notable because it involves a public political figure whose stated commitment to privacy sits alongside a criminal charge.

According to NBC6, Martin was arrested on the Thursday after responding to an online advertisement for escort services. His arrest report states that he made a verbal agreement to pay for sex and travelled to a meeting location, where he allegedly handed an undercover officer $60 before being taken into custody. He now faces a misdemeanour charge. Martin, who has previously posted images on social media of a woman he called his "little love", acknowledged that something seemingly normal was not necessarily legal, and released a statement in Spanish saying he accepted the consequences of what he called a difficult situation.