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The Cuban regime's Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, lashed out this Thursday at the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, after his meeting in Washington with the dissident José Daniel Ferrer, who has recently arrived in exile under duress.
Rodríguez posted on his account on X a message in which he accused Rubio of meeting with "criminals, abusers of women, and violators of human rights," referring to Ferrer and other exiled Cuban activists.
"It is not surprising that the U.S. Secretary of State meets with criminals, women abusers and vulnerable individuals, notorious human rights violators, pretenders who self-harm to blame others, and who disguise themselves as 'opponents' to enrich themselves with taxpayer money, which the Secretary openly gifts to them," wrote the regime official.
The chancellor added that this alleged policy is part of "a corrupt and fraudulent agenda that seeks to inflict suffering on the Cuban people, but that will continue to fail."
Rodríguez's statements respond to the recent meeting in the U.S. capital between Marco Rubio and José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU), in which the high-ranking U.S. official reiterated Washington's support for freedom and democracy on the island.
During the meeting, Rubio emphasized “the courage and resilience of Ferrer in the face of the Cuban regime's repression and the ruthless treatment against him and his family,” according to the Department of State.
The secretary emphasized that the United States will continue to support Cuban activists and will demand accountability for human rights violations committed by the regime.
Ferrer, for his part, highlighted the humanitarian crisis in eastern Cuba following the passage of Hurricane Melissa and requested that international aid be channeled directly through the Catholic Church, without the involvement of state institutions controlled by the regime.
The opposition figure was also received by Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, who met with a group of former political prisoners, including Ana Lázara Rodríguez, Ángel de Fana, Maritza Lugo, and the rapper El Funky, in a meeting where they reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining international pressure for the release of the more than 1,100 political prisoners who remain in Cuban jails.
Bruno Rodríguez's verbal offensive reflects the usual stance of the Cuban regime regarding contacts between opposition leaders and U.S. officials, whom he accuses of "interference" while avoiding acknowledgment of the deterioration of rights and freedoms within the country.
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