The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, launched a verbal offensive against political prisoners José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, whom he labeled as criminals during a press conference in Havana.
The meeting with foreign and official journalists was convened in response to the participation of notable Cuban opponents and activists in a gathering held on October 19 at the United Nations, by invitation of U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz.
Rodríguez Parrilla dedicated part of his speech to discrediting the opponents who had reported political repression in Cuba to international representatives. To do this, he referenced their judicial convictions, made personal accusations, and displayed images intended to challenge their testimonies about the abuses suffered in prison.
The chancellor described the meeting organized by the United States as a "farce" intended to discredit the Cuban government and disrupt the debate leading up to the annual General Assembly vote on the U.S. embargo, scheduled for October 27 and 28.
Ferrer: from torture whistleblower to accused by the chancellor
Rodríguez Parrilla directed some of his most serious accusations against José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU), released and sent to the United States after years of imprisonment and reports of mistreatment.
He is a convicted felon, affirmed the minister, who listed offenses such as bodily harm, bribery, and contempt, and maintained that the opposition member had been favored on several occasions by the alleged humanitarian nature of Cuba's penal system.
Next, he was described as "misogynistic" and "abusive towards women", and it was claimed that he had been accused of hitting a pregnant woman. Rodríguez Parrilla did not present any judicial documentation to support his allegations.
The regime's chancellor also questioned Ferrer's torture allegations and showed a video recorded during his imprisonment, in which the opposition member can be seen banging his head while pleading for help.
«Here is the image of the torture», he commented with irony, implying that the dissident had pretended to be a victim of abuse by his guards.
The exhibition of that fragment alone does not allow us to determine what happened during the entirety of his imprisonment nor to refute other allegations of mistreatment.
Furthermore, Rodríguez Parrilla criticized Waltz for having received Ferrer as a personal guest and seating him to his right during the meeting, a diplomatic distinction that he framed as an affront to Cuba.
Otero Alcántara: "A circus artist"
The minister extended his disqualifications to Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, an independent artist and figure of the San Isidro Movement, condemned to five years in prison in 2022 and later released.
Another criminal posing as an artist, Rodríguez stated while presenting his image to the journalists.
Following that, he questioned his artistic career: «I don't know if anyone has ever seen a painting created by this so-called painter». He concluded: «He is a circus artist».
The chancellor's words reduced Otero Alcántara's trajectory to conventional painting, despite the fact that his work has primarily developed within the realms of performance, conceptual art, and public interventions.
Rodríguez Parrilla listed accusations related to contempt, insult to national symbols, and alleged health violations during the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting them as evidence that the artist should not be regarded as a political prisoner.
He also mocked the appearance of the two opponents, now formally dressed and welcomed on an international diplomatic stage, whom he described as having turned into "gentlemen in suits and ties" and supposed representatives of Cubans abroad.
The minister did not individually address the allegations regarding restrictions on freedom of expression, arbitrary detentions, and prison conditions raised by the activists.
Terrorism accusations against Gutiérrez Boronat
The chancellor's offensive also targeted Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, co-founder of the Cuban Democratic Directorate, whom he labeled a "terrorist" and linked to exile organizations that, he claimed, work to destabilize the Cuban political system.
Rodríguez Parrilla stated that opposition organizations have received millions in funding from U.S. institutions, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The minister mentioned allocations of hundreds of thousands of dollars and an amount exceeding 30 million dollars since 2020. He also made accusations regarding alleged personal expenses on travel and household items. However, it was not established in his presentation that all those amounts corresponded to Gutiérrez Boronat or that they evidenced any misuse of funds.
Rodríguez questioned why the opposition figure had been invited to the United Nations meeting and stated that his image did not appear in the official broadcast of the event. He suggested that this absence could be linked to the protests from the Cuban delegation, although he did not provide evidence to support that connection.
The chancellor described the U.S. initiative as "ridiculous," but also "dangerous," and argued that it was part of a campaign to pressure governments that traditionally support the Cuban resolution against the embargo.
From the shouts at the UN to the dismissals by the chancellor
Rodríguez's statements come after Cuban diplomats staged an act of repudiation against the participants of the forum held in New York.
In videos later shared by Waltz, Cuban officials, led by permanent representative Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, are seen confronting the activists with shouts of "terrorists" and "liars."
Soberón himself later shared a mocking video suggesting a romantic relationship between Ferrer and Waltz, accompanied by hearts and music.
During the meeting on October 19, Ferrer denounced the torture and pressures suffered in prison, while Otero Alcántara demanded the right of Cubans to defend a political project different from that imposed by the Communist Party.
The U.S. ambassador defended the forum's celebration and stated that if the Cuban authorities wanted to prevent such allegations, they should stop committing the abuses pointed out by the participants.
The controversy comes just days before the General Assembly votes again on the Cuban resolution against the embargo. While Washington tries to focus the debate on political repression and the responsibilities of the Havana government, Rodríguez Parrilla insists on presenting the U.S. sanctions as the primary issue that the international community must address.
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