The Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer issued a challenge full of determination during an interview with Tania Costa as he reflected on his first year in exile: if someone can prove to him that his work is not worthwhile, he is willing to return to Cuba by boat, accepting that it would likely be his end in the regime's prisons.
"If someone tells me today that I am wasting my time, that nothing I have done is worthwhile, I immediately feel insecure, and not like the regime's delegates at the UN who have already felt insecure yesterday. I feel insecure right away and I go back to Cuba knowing that it could possibly be my end in the regime's prisons," stated the founder of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU).
The statement came one day after the incident at the UN on October 19, when Cuban diplomats led by Ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán attempted to disrupt the forum “Cuba Libre: the oppression that Havana hides” by shouting “terrorists” and “liars” at Ferrer and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara.
Far from being intimidated, Ferrer presented a report that he described as positive: trips to 13 European capitals, initiatives in Washington, and daily efforts to support political prisoners and their families from exile.
"We have made progress in international relations. We are improving the situation regarding political prisoners and raising a level of activism within Cuba. A discreet, clandestine activism—graffiti, stained banners, nighttime bonfires—always ensuring that no one is put in danger. We call them libertarian bonfires, bonfires for freedom," he described.
The opposition figure also revealed a clandestine medical assistance network: "We are even working with doctors and medical personnel who do not want public attention, but we are telling them: if we send you a patient, you treat them and let us know what they have and what medicine they need, and we will send the medicine."
One of the most persistent obstacles faced from the outside is convincing the families of political prisoners to accept help. As reported, the regime promises them that their relatives will be better off in prison if they do not receive outside assistance, which leads many families to initially reject contact.
"Sometimes I've lost my patience. I've told him I won't call anymore. It's impossible now. Then, after three months, he called me and sent me the video," she recounted, emphasizing that over time, most people end up "becoming aware."
Ferrer also works from exile with initiatives such as Cuba Decide, Camino a la Democracia, and the Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana. The day after the incident at the UN, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla referred to him as a "convicted offender" at a press conference in Havana, to which Ferrer responded with his characteristic irony in the interview.
For the opposition, the regime's reaction is, in itself, confirmation that their efforts are bearing fruit: "They do know, they are aware of the damage that our humble efforts and work cause to their regime. Therefore, they will indeed assess how far the punishment goes."
The context of these statements is the hysterical reaction of the regime to the forum at the UN, which occurs just days before the annual vote by the General Assembly on the embargo, scheduled for October 27 and 28, at a time when international support for the Cuban resolution has dropped from 187 votes in 2024 to 136 in a special session held in July of this year.
"The truth cannot be defended for just a moment one day. It must be defended all the time because the lie is at work tirelessly 24 hours a day," concluded Ferrer.
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