The leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), José Daniel Ferrer, has expressed, in statements to CiberCuba, his concern for one of his daughters, seven-year-old Daniela Patricia, who faced an asylum court in the United States last week and will have to return due to the judge's doubts, who has not taken into account that the minor is the daughter of the leader of the opposition to the Cuban dictatorship.
" If my daughter Daniela Patricia is deported to Cuba and I go back to prison, she would be left without a father and without a mother," Ferrer told CiberCuba. The Cuban opposition leader was released from prison on January 16, following an alleged agreement between the Díaz-Canel regime and the Catholic Church for the release of 553 prisoners under the pretext of the Jubilee 2025. The releases were halted and ultimately disappointed when the Administration Trump put Cuba back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, from which Biden had removed it before leaving the White House, on January 14.
Ferrer is aware that he could be imprisoned again at any moment and that is why he is concerned about the asylum case of his daughter Daniela Patricia. Since the child's mother is in the United States and he is at risk of being incarcerated, the girl would be left without support in Cuba, far from her parents.
"The situation of my little seven-year-old daughter, Daniela Patricia Ferrer Reyes, is very delicate and concerning for me. While it is true that nothing in life do I desire more than to have most of my family close to me, by my side, and while I would very much like to have Daniela Patricia with me, it is also true that what I desire most is the well-being of my daughter and all my children. And with me, Daniela Patricia would once again be in constant risk, in constant danger of seeing her father return to prison; of witnessing how our home is once again assaulted, as has happened so many times before, which she experienced at least twice, as I remember very well," Ferrer said in response to questions from CiberCuba.
The leader of the Cuban opposition shared with this platform the consequences that being his daughter has had for Daniela Patricia Ferrer. "When she was very small, she experienced how the special forces of the Ministry of the Interior would break down the door and enter our home, pointing shotguns at my head. My greatest fear is that if my little girl is deported to Cuba and I go back to prison—a risk I face daily—she would once again be left without a father and without a mother, because the mother would be in the United States and I would be in prison," he added.
"In the case of political prisoners, we maintain a strong, firm, and determined stance in favor of the democratization of Cuba. The family suffers just as much as the political prisoner, because the regime's attacks on the family are constant, intending that if they cannot break us by hitting and torturing us, they at least seek to see if they can break us by inflicting pain and suffering on the family," Ferrer explained to clarify why his daughter is a victim of Castroism.
"That is why my great concern," he said, pointing out that in his opinion, "the fair and right thing is for the girl Daniela Patricia to remain with her mother, who loves her dearly and takes very good care of her in the United States of America, in the land of freedom."
There, he insisted in reference to the United States, "the police won’t come in, special forces won’t come in aiming guns at your mother’s head because your mother has a different political view than the government in power at that time in that nation. I hope for justice to be served and that my daughter can continue living legally in the United States," he concluded.
José Daniel Ferrer also took the opportunity to thank all the Cubans who have shown concern for his daughter's case. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to each of them.
Daniela Patricia Ferrer Reyes, seven years old, and the daughter of the leader of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba and former political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer, finds herself in a migratory limbo in the United States, and she must file a political asylum case before November in court.
The girl, after entering the U.S. through the border in 2022, received an I-220A document and now risks being deported to the Island, where her father is constantly harassed by State Security.
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