Prominent Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer freed, sent in exile to Miami

One of Cuba’s leading dissidents, José Daniel Ferrer, was released from prison on the island Monday and sent into exile with his family in Miami.

At a late morning press conference in Miami to celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize for Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, Cuban exile Luis Enrique Ferrer announced his brother’s release.

“José Daniel Ferrer and his family just boarded a plane in Santiago, Cuba, and will arrive shortly in Miami,” Luis Enrique said to applause at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.

José Daniel Ferrer is founder of the dissident Patriotic Union of Cuba, or UNPACU. He has challenged the communist dictatorship there for decades. He was arrested during the historic mass protests against the regime in July of 2021, and he’d since been in prison in Santiago.

READ MORE: Cuba releases a prominent dissident as part of plan to free more than 500 prisoners

Because of his deteriorating health and regime threats against his family, Ferrer agreed to leave Cuba if released. He described his treatment in a letter from prison that his family circulated this month.

“The dictatorship’s cruelty against me has surpassed all limits,” he wrote in the letter. “I have suffered beatings, torture, humiliation, threats, extreme conditions, and even the theft of my food and toiletries.”

Ferrer had been released from prison in January after President Joe Biden’s administration announced his intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. But he was promptly sent back in April after the Trump administration put the island nation back on the list.

The U.S. had already publicly called for Ferrer’s release and Amnesty International included him in a list of a half-dozen prisoners of conscience. In a statement Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for the release of another “700 unjustly detained political prisoners.”

Rubio, who spent years in the U.S. Senate opposing the Castro regime, welcomed Ferrer to the U.S. in a post on X to his 1.5 million followers.

“After years of repression, torture, and abuses from the Cuban regime, Ferrer and his family are in the United States,” Rubio wrote. “The Cuban people’s desires for basic freedoms and democracy are an inspiration to many.

“We reaffirm our commitment to a free, fair, and democratic Cuba,” Rubio added

The general director of bilateral relations for the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Alejandro García, said Ferrer was transported directly to the international airport of Santiago de Cuba on Monday, where he was put on a flight to the U.S. with his family before noon.

“He leaves the country due to a request made by the U.S. government to the Cuban government, which (Ferrer) is in agreement with,” García said.

He was met at the Miami International Airport by Republican Miami Congressman Carlos Giménez, who called Ferrer a “FEARLESS CHAMPION” on X.

“José Daniel Ferrer … was forcibly exiled today after suffering years jailed in Castro’s concentration camp.”

U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, who also greeted Ferrer at MIA on Monday, called him “a hero.”

“@jdanielferrer has endured years of physical and psychological torture at the hands of that regime” Díaz-Balart wrote on X. “Despite this, he has demonstrated extraordinary courage by standing firm alongside the oppressed Cuban people in their struggle against constant human rights violations and injustices.”

“The United States receives him as the hero he is and will continue its unwavering solidarity in the face of the cruel and repressive dictatorship in Cuba,” added Díaz-Balart.

In his post on X, he included a photo of himself with Gimenez, Ferrer and Ferrer’s wife, Nelva Ortega.

Valentina Sandoval and the Associated Press contributed to this report.