The Cuban influencer Alexander Otaola gave a strong assessment following the recent letter released from prison by the opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, in which he announced having accepted forced exile as a result of years of torture and pressure from the Cuban regime.
Otaola did not hold back in expressing the value and journey of Ferrer, and he firmly stated that the opposition leader deserves, more than anyone else, “to breathe in freedom,” to be welcomed in the United States as a “hero” and as a “martyr, but alive.”
"I believe that Ferrer deserves to regain his emotional stability, deserves to get his family back, and deserves to breathe freedom; he deserves it. He has given more than anyone for a people that do nothing to demand their release," asserted the host on his program this Friday.
In a highly emotional and critical intervention, the influencer asserted that keeping Ferrer in prison serves no purpose and yields no results, beyond personal exhaustion.
“Does Ferrer deserve to come? Yes. He has done everything within his power. I believe he deserves to be a patriot and deserves to be a martyr, but alive, a living hero. He won't resolve anything inside the prison. He won't resolve anything with a hunger strike that ends up with him dying,” he insisted.
Criticism of the regime's passivity and strategy
The Cuban-American activist also lamented the indifference of those who once benefited from Ferrer's sacrifice.
“Even the hungry who used to eat at Ferrer's home have not had the dignity to protest in front of the prison where he has been since April, after his release was revoked in January,” he denounced.
Despite defending the decision to accept exile, Otaola expressed skepticism about whether it will actually take place. For him, the maneuver is a response to a calculated strategy by the regime.
“I believe Ferrer deserves to be here and I think it's very good for him to come here,” he stated, although he acknowledged his doubts: “From my perspective, it is a strategy of the regime.”
He also criticized certain sectors of the dissidence that attacked Ferrer upon his release from prison.
"When Ferrer was released from prison, several of those who call themselves 'opposition members' jumped at him without even considering that he had just come out after four years," he recalled with annoyance.
A life devoted to the struggle for freedom
Alexander Otaola highlighted Ferrer's journey since the beginning of his activism, recalling his time in Castro's prisons since the Black Spring and his role within the group of 75.
"Brave man, brave patriot, who has dedicated several years of his life to Castro's prisons, from the crisis of the Primavera Negra until now, from the group of 75 and long before in the struggle for freedom. He has lost his youth, he has lost his strength, he has lost his health, he has devoted time, energy, and life to the cause," he expressed.
In his analysis, Otaola considered that Ferrer's letter was written “under total pressure,” and that one of the determining factors may have been family.
"I am sure that family stability is also a significant pressure, and I believe that is where the greatest weakness they have found in Ferrer comes from. He even says it in the letter: 'I will do it for my family,'" he said.
However, Otaola reiterated his doubts about a possible immediate release.
“I tell you that I seriously doubt the dictatorship will release him, I doubt it very much. Given the situation in Venezuela, where it’s uncertain if a missile might bounce off and land in Havana, they are not going to give up their only cards, which are the opposition leaders, the people who are recognized and loved,” he asserted
A strategy to discredit him?
Otaola insisted that this could be a maneuver orchestrated by State Security. In his view, the goal is to create a narrative of defeat and surrender.
"I believe this is a move by State Security, once again. Ferrer agreed to leave, but just as they did with Maykel Osorbo and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who were already willing to leave, State Security is not allowing them to go," he stated
"The idea is to sell the image that the patriot has broken, that he is willing to compromise, that he is ready to negotiate," he pointed out at another moment.
Despite everything, Otaola expressed his hope that the leader of UNPACU may finally be released from prison: "Welcome Ferrer, I hope he is released, but I repeat: I don't believe that will happen, especially not at a time like this."
"Ferrer has not broken."
Throughout the program, the influencer elaborated on elements that lead him to believe that the regime uses this card as a tool for manipulation:
"Since August, and now we are in October, they are sidelining you. It's the same strategy: I persuade you, I drill you, I pressure you to make you look like someone who backed down, someone who gave in."
However, he emphasized that Ferrer made it clear in his letter that his departure would not imply any concessions to the dictatorship.
"Ferrer states in the letter: I will not leave, neither under pressure nor through blackmail, and I will not leave here with any kind of concession to the dictatorship."
For Otaola, that path is unacceptable: “There’s no dialogue with the dictatorship. The level of the diabolical machinery is a disgrace.”
An indispensable figure in the future of Cuba
The influencer concluded by highlighting the symbolic and political value of Ferrer. He believes that if he were to arrive in exile, his figure would be strengthened on an international level.
"Ferrer is an upright guy; he is someone who, if he were to reach the United States, would become an important voice recognized internationally. Within the dungeon, he is nothing more than a symbol confined," he stated.
Otaola concluded his remarks with a categorical statement:
"I believe that the end of the dictatorship is closer than we think. This desperation from the dictatorship, trying to portray Ferrer as a false leader in the eyes of Cubans both inside and outside the island, is because the dictatorship knows that everything is crumbling around them."
The regime would be blocking the exit
Previously, Nelva Ismaray Ortega, the wife of José Daniel Ferrer, reported that the regime is blocking his departure from the country and is subjecting him to psychological torture.
In an interview with Mario J. Pentón for Martí Noticias, Ortega stated that the founder of UNPACU is under “psychological pressure and systematic torture” after accepting the forced exile imposed by the regime.
Ortega explained that for months the family has been "waiting for a date to leave, but they continue to withhold our documents and pressuring him to make statements favorable to a dialogue between the regime and the United States, something he will not accept."
She also reported that her husband is "pale, with many signs of torture and bedbug bites," and that the rains have flooded his cell.
"He prefers to die rather than give up, but the situation is critical. This week, the regime must decide whether to allow him to leave the country; if not, he will accept staying in prison," he said.
"They have taken almost everything from us, but not our morale," he concluded.
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