"Total destruction": This is how the UNPACU headquarters was left after the raid and the disappearance of José Daniel Ferrer

The national headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in Santiago de Cuba, which also houses the opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, was completely destroyed following a violent police raid that took place in the early hours of Monday, April 29.

According to reports from his family, the operation concluded with the arrest and forced disappearance of the dissident, as well as the complete looting of the location.

In a video released by the organization itself, Gabriel Ferrer Sánchez, the nephew of the opponent, showed the ruins left by the political police. “They took everything: food, medicine, money, phones, appliances, lamps, even the child's cookies. They destroyed everything,” he stated while walking through the ransacked rooms, with broken furniture and holes in the ceilings and walls. The home served as a humanitarian aid center for people in need in Santiago de Cuba.

Nelva Ismaray Ortega Tamayo, wife of Ferrer, was also detained along with her underage son. She reported that they were forcibly taken out around six in the morning, without the chance to wash up or gather basic belongings.

"They took us to a house in Versailles under the pretext of child protection. It was not a threat, they said, but a warning. But it was a kidnapping. They took my husband away and we don't know where he is," she stated.

The Cuban regime justified the operation by stating that Ferrer violated the terms of his probation. The Supreme Court claimed it was due to his "repeated antisocial behavior," although family members and activists argue that it is a punishment for his humanitarian efforts. Days earlier, Ferrer had publicly reported the obstacles imposed to assist needy communities.

The UNPACU headquarters has been the target of repeated harassment for years. In 2020, individuals aligned with the regime in the early morning hours. In 2021, another act of repudiation involved the throwing of feces, as a form of intimidation. The authorities have never investigated these events.

Human rights organizations have denounced the intensification of repression against dissent on the island and are calling for the safe return of José Daniel Ferrer. Meanwhile, the exiled community and supporters of UNPACU insist that feeding, healing, and supporting the most vulnerable cannot continue to be criminalized.