José Daniel Ferrer Vows to Return to Cuba by Boat Before the Fall of Castroism

José Daniel Ferrer, a prominent Cuban dissident and leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), has vowed to return to Cuba "by boat, with a white rose and Martí's verses," before the fall of the Castro regime. He made this promise during a press conference broadcast by the YouTube channel Prisoners Defenders International, alongside former political prisoner Luis Robles.

"I'll board a boat, off the grid, and if no one wants to return, I'll go back alone," Ferrer declared from Miami, just days after his exile. "I'll carry a white rose, Martí's verses, and a satellite phone to say: 'I'm arriving at the Havana Malecón. If you don't hear from me again, I'm either imprisoned or killed.'

Ferrer, who was released after over four years of imprisonment and torture in Mar Verde prison, insisted that his departure from Cuba was not by choice. “I didn’t leave to escape the pain or the beatings. I left for effectiveness, to continue the struggle with more strength,” he explained.

The Struggles and Promises of José Daniel Ferrer

Ferrer recounted that in recent months, he was subjected to beatings and humiliations to force him to accept a "dialogue" with the United States in exchange for easing the regime's burdens—something he firmly refused. His exit from the country was one of the most closely monitored operations in recent years. A video leaked by State Security captured the moment he boarded an American Airlines flight at Santiago de Cuba's Antonio Maceo Airport, accompanied by regime agents. The footage attempted to portray his departure as "voluntary," but Ferrer and his family describe it as "forced exile."

In Miami, where he was welcomed by activists and exiled officials, Ferrer spoke of "mixed feelings," happy to reunite with his wife and children, yet sorrowful for those imprisoned in Cuba. "The regime’s prisons are a hell," he stated. His wife, Dr. Nelva Ismarays Ortega, tearfully recalled the elderly and children they cared for in Santiago. "We feel pain for leaving them behind. They asked us, ‘Who will help us now?’”

Luis Robles: From Silent Protest to Public Testimony

The conference also marked the public reemergence of Luis Robles Elizástegui, a young man sentenced to five years in prison for holding a sign silently demanding "freedom for Denis Solís and political prisoners." Robles spoke calmly, yet with the weight of four and a half years of severe imprisonment. "Silence makes you complicit in wrongdoing," he said. "I decided to break the fear because someone had to do it. No one deserves to be punished for expressing an opinion or dreaming of a different country."

Robles denounced that in Cuban prisons, "inmates are tortured, live hungry, and lack medical care." He also shared that the regime still holds his brother, Landy Fernández, described as a "hostage of the state" by their mother, Yindra Elizástegui Jardines. Tearfully, she sought asylum in Spain and condemned the persecution of her entire family. "The silence of family members also kills. If we don’t speak up, we become accomplices," she warned.

Ferrer’s Call for Unity Against Repression

During the broadcast, Ferrer asserted that "the only thing that continues to function in Cuba is the repressive machinery." He criticized the political police for maintaining fear and paralysis among millions of Cubans and harshly criticized the European Union for maintaining a "complacent policy" with the Havana regime.

"Crimes by the extreme left cannot be justified, just as those by the extreme right are not," he stated. He also denounced the "shameful" tourism that "comes to Cuba to indulge without acknowledging the suffering of the people," urging foreigners to show solidarity with the Ladies in White or families of political prisoners if they choose to visit the island.

Despite the torture, the former political prisoner maintained that he was not broken. "They beat me, dragged me, forced me to eat rotten soup through a funnel. They tried to humiliate me, but I survived to keep fighting," he recounted with determination. "I left to reorganize the struggle, not to rest. I will return before the tyranny falls, even if it’s just a week before, to see my people free."

In his final message, Ferrer called for unity between the exile community and activists on the island: "If we unite, the tyranny won’t last a week. We must create the necessary synergy so they have no respite."

His promise to return by boat—a symbolically charged image for a nation that has seen thousands depart by sea—now becomes a new chapter in his story of resistance. From Miami, José Daniel Ferrer asserts he is ready to continue the fight "for a free, democratic, and just Cuba," convinced that before the fall of Castroism, he will walk on the Havana Malecón once more.