Cuba releases jailed activist Jose Daniel Ferrer
A prominent Cuban dissident and activist has been released from prison as part of a broader prisoner release agreement between the Cuban government and the United States.
José Daniel Ferrer spent more than three years in prison after anti-government protests broke out on the communist-run island in 2021.
Under the deal brokered by the Catholic Church, outgoing US President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, days before the end of his term.
In exchange, Cuba said it would release 553 people, many of whom had been detained during anti-government protests.
island The first of hundreds of prisoners began to be released According to local NGOs, around 20 people were freed on Wednesday.
Ferrer is one of the most recognizable names among Cuban dissidents and pro-democracy activists. The 54-year-old leader of the Cuban Patriotic Union (Anpacu), an opposition group in the country, was jailed and charged with public disorder after the 2021 protests.
“I am home, in good health, but I have the courage to continue fighting for Cuban freedom,” Ferrer told Reuters in a phone call.
Many of the prisoners released this week were arrested in connection with the 2021 protests, during which citizens demanded that the Cuban government do more to ease widespread food shortages and rising prices.
Biden’s move to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism comes just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, has been critical of the decision to ease sanctions on Cuba and has hinted that it could be reversed.
Speaking at his Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday, Rubio said “the new administration is not bound by that decision,” referring to some of the sanctions on Cuba that the Biden administration rescinded on Tuesday.
Earlier, Trump’s choice as national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Fox News that “Whatever the (Biden administration) is doing right now, we can back off, and in case of a change in Cuba, we can back anybody up.” One should not be under any illusion.” Policy”.
The Cuban government says designating the island as a state sponsor of terrorism is extremely unjust and aimed at damaging Cuba’s economy by making it impossible for it to access international banking credit.
