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José Daniel Ferrer García, founder of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU), published a passionate message on Facebook this Tuesday, in which he harshly lashed out at those who attack, slander, and criticize him on social media.
The text, which generated an intense reaction on social media, started from a rhetorical question aimed at his detractors and concluded with a no-holds-barred response that has divided the Cuban community both in exile and on the island.
The question that no one expected
Ferrer opened his publication with a series of questions filled with frustration.
"If my priority is the freedom of Cuba, if I mean you no harm, if I do not covet what is yours, if I do not aspire to the political position you dream of, why do you hate me, why do you attack me, why do you slander me, why do you create more faults in me than I actually have?" he questioned.
The question did not go unanswered.
Ferrer himself responded with a firmness that left no room for ambiguity.
"I'll tell you: because you are an open or undercover agent in the service of tyranny, because you are a cowardly envious person who hates those with the courage you lack, because your personal ambitions blind you and you feel inferior, because you know you have never risked or sacrificed anything for Cuba beyond mere words," he wrote.
And he concluded: "Because you are a pathetic tool or a pathological envious and miserable person."
The message reflects the tension accumulated by Ferrer since he arrived in Miami on October 13, 2025 with his wife Nelva Ortega and his children, after accepting forced exile to protect his family from the pressures of State Security.
A path marked by repression
Ferrer does not speak from the comfort of someone who has never paid a price for their convictions.
Detained on March 18, 2003, during the Black Spring as part of the group of 75 prisoners of conscience, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience.
He was released in 2011 under an extrapenal license, and that same year he founded UNPACU.
He was arrested again after the protests of July 11, 2021, released on January 16, 2025, and re-arrested in April of that same year, in conditions reported as deplorable in the Mar Verde prison, Santiago de Cuba.
From exile, he has maintained an intense political activity.
In May, he issued warnings against repressors and government collaborators, stating that "they will have no escape."
The support of its followers
The post sparked an avalanche of supportive comments.
"You were, are, and will be great. If they insult you, slander you, and criticize you, it’s because you’re doing it right," wrote one of his followers.
Another pointed out: “Media lynching is one of the strategies used by authoritarian regimes to discredit and silence their most critical opponents.”
A third message summarized the prevailing sentiment: "Your struggle and selflessness for the freedom of our beloved homeland is a testament that endures, no matter who it may upset. You are a great patriot."
Critical voices
However, a smaller but very active group of comments questioned his credibility and moral authority.
"With everything you say, you still come off as opportunistic; you found a way to avoid working both in Cuba and in the United States," wrote one of his critics.
Another was more direct: “Not a word you say is believed because you have always been a manipulator.”
A recurring argument also emerged: “Cubans do not want anyone from another country to tell us what we should do.”
The debate reflected a deep polarization surrounding José Daniel Ferrer: while his supporters see him as one of the main figures of the Cuban opposition, his detractors view him as a discredited figure detached from the everyday reality of the island.
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