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José Daniel Ferrer did not speak this time about prisons or torture. What he wanted to bring to light was the internal exhaustion of the opposition in exile, a problem he considers as serious as the repression itself within Cuba.
"Many do the same while neglecting other fronts," he said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Debate, in an open critique of the ego wars and the duplication of efforts that, he claims, hinder any real possibility of democratic progress.
The opposition leader has been closely monitoring the workings of the groups based in the United States for months and warns that the main obstacle, at this point, is not a lack of will, but rather the inability to coordinate.
"What we do individually, no matter how well we do it, will not allow us to advance significantly," he emphasized, noting that the Cuban cause needs strategy, humility, and discipline, not protagonism.
It is not the first time that this alert has been issued. After arriving in Miami in October, Ferrer summed up the state of the opposition with a phrase that resonated painfully in many sectors: “There is no cohesion, coordination, discipline. We have many fourth batters, but we do not have a team.” Three months later, he maintains this diagnosis and asserts that fragmentation remains one of the main challenges for activism outside the island.
Ferrer’s warnings do not come from the comfort of an external analyst, but from someone who, during his last period in prison, was subjected to punishments that bordered on the inhumane.
He recounted that guards and common inmates would immobilize him, cover his nose, force him to consume decomposing food, and beat him until he was powerless. “It was a daily routine of beatings and asphyxiation,” he remembers. It is precisely this past that, according to many of his followers, gives him the legitimacy to demand less ego and more coordinated action.
Today, their focus is on organizing resistance cells within Cuba, supervised from exile to reduce risks and keep internal pressure alive. They claim that these clandestine networks are already operating and have even launched visible campaigns within the island, such as graffiti displaying the initials HR —for human rights— on the eve of December 10th.
At the same time, Ferrer is trying to bridge the gaps between the various opposition organizations outside of Cuba, a task he acknowledges is complex. “There is a bit of an ego war,” he admitted, although he assures that he is in discussions with several groups to build more stable alliances. As a sign of that effort, he maintains collaboration with members of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba and former members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).
He has also sought international political support. In recent weeks, he held meetings in Washington with the State Department and Secretary Marco Rubio, whom he described as “very informed” and committed to improving living conditions on the island. Later, he was honored with the Truman-Reagan Freedom Medal, a recognition of his resistance against the dictatorship.
In the midst of that activism, he also participated in a recent debate in exile to come to the defense of Alexander Otaola following the controversy over donations to the victims of Hurricane Melissa. “I’m more interested in actions than in words,” said Ferrer, recalling the assistance that, according to him, the host has provided to political prisoners.
For some, that statement was yet another sign of his attempt to curb divisions; for others, it was a warning that the struggle for Cuba needs, above all, coherence and solidarity.
The opposition leader insists that exile can become a decisive force, but only if it manages to overcome the internal divisions he describes. His message is clear and emphasizes that unity is not a symbolic gesture, but a political urgency. "If we continue to duplicate efforts while essential fronts are neglected, the cause will not progress," he repeats.
Ferrer assures that he will continue to push from the outside, with his focus on the interior of the island and the conviction that freedom is not achieved through noise or rivalries, but through real organization. And for him, that still remains the weakest point of the Cuban exile.
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