In a letter from prison, Ferrer reveals that to save his family he is willing to accept the exile to which the dictatorship pushes him, but he will only do it with “dignity.”
Madrid, Spain.- Cuban opponent José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), revealed in a Letter written from the green sea prison that he accepted the exit into exile with the aim of protecting his family, but stressed that the regime is forcing him to do it under blackmail, abuse and humiliating conditions he rejects.
The letter, dated September 10 and published this Friday on the Facebook page administered by its relatives, was written by hand and should be disclosed “immediately”. In it, Ferrer denounces that for years he has undergone “brutal beating, torture, humiliations, threats even death” and that his family has also suffered “the most ruthless persecution” to press him to leave the country or renounce his activism.
Since the beginning of the letter, Ferrer denounces that he has been the victim of “cruel inhuman and degrading treatment by slender and other instruments of the worst dictatorship that the American continent has known.”
As described, in the last four months and nine days the cruelty against him has intensified. He has suffered “beams, torture, humiliations, threats and extreme conditions”, in addition to “robberies of my food and cleaning products, ordered by the minion of the regime.”
Pressures to accept exile
Ferrer reveals that, even before his last arrest on April 29, he had considered the possibility of exile as a way of protecting his wife and children. However, it emphasizes that this “decision” was a direct result of the regime pressures.
“Given the constant manifestations of the political police to leave Cuba, I ended up accepting the exit to exile. Since the procedures began … the regime agents have been playing very dirty: harassment, threats, humiliations, robberies and extreme conditions.”
The opponent also denounces that strong personal pressure was imposed, even to celebrate his marriage on a symbolic date linked to the deceased dictator Fidel Castro. It also ensures that state security has produced videos and recordings with the intention of discrediting it, making it appear as a regime’s collaborator.
Rejection of a “shameful dialogue“
In his letter, Ferrer affirms that state security agents have tried to press it to ask the United States Embassy or the Catholic Church to initiate a dialogue with the regime. He qualifies it as a manipulation maneuver to exchange the liberation of political prisoners for benefits to the Cuban government: “They wanted to make statements or ask … a dialogue that leads to the shameful ‘negotiation’ of other times: release of political prisoners in exchange for lifting of sanctions and other facilities to the dictatorship.”
Given that demand, Ferrer is categorical: “If my life and that of my family depends on asking such things, I prefer my death in this Nazi -style concentration camp and even the sacrifice of my family.”
Dignity against pressure
The opponent insists that he will not leave Cuba under conditions imposed by the regime:
“From Cuba I only go out with my dignity and honor at high and not for a long time. Although I have lost my faith in many opponents because of its disunity, sectarianism and lack of effectiveness, I still have a lot in the good fighters that remain … I would continue fighting until you reach victory or die in the attempt to see Cuba free.”
In another passage, he emphasizes that only the love of his family and his commitment to the non -violent struggle have kept him firm in prison:
“Only immense love for my family and my attachment to the non -violent struggle have made it possible for me to keep calm and do not defend me with so many abuses, violence and humiliations with the methods that any human being would have used in such extreme circumstances.”
He also denounces that he survives “among common criminals capable of all crime”, under the orders of the prison chief, Vladimir Pereira, “who brutally hates me”, and from agents of the political police who, according to, say, they stole it, steal it and constantly cause it.
“Survive in the worst conditions that a prisoner can survive in the western hemisphere, but I am willing to die, rather than give up. I am ready to die, but not to live without honor, without dignity,” he concludes.
The letter closes with a shout of resistance: “Long live Cuba free! Down the tyranny! Down hunger and misery! Below the oppression!”
By making the letter public, in statements to Cubanet José Daniel’s brother said: “It is very important to spread that situation and the bad intentions of the dictatorship.”
Ferrer had been provisionally released in January 2025 as part of an agreement between the Cuban regime and the Vatican, but the measure was revoked after the death of Pope Francis. He was arrested again on April 29, 2025 after a police operation in his home. Since then, he remains jailed in conditions of isolation and under systematic abuses that aim to force him to leave Cuba.
