The Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer stated this Thursday that the Cuban people —even those who work for the regime without supporting it— have a single wish regarding the ruling elite: "that they be captured now." He said this in a live interview with Tania Costa, one day after the incident involving the Cuban delegation at the UN headquarters.
"The people, that famous war of the whole people, the people, I swear to you, have one wish: that they be captured already," stated the founder of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), who spent long periods in the regime's prisons and is currently exiled in the United States.
Ferrer explained that after the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, individuals who serve the regime—without supporting it—began to ask him when something similar would happen in Cuba.
"After January 3rd, so many people told me that I didn’t think, I didn’t believe they were saying it to me, asking: 'When is something like that going to happen here?'" recounted the opposition member.
When asked if something similar could happen after November 3 —the date of the midterm elections in the United States— Ferrer responded without hesitation: "Even more emphatic, even more emphatic."
As signs of this growing pressure, the opposition leader cited a CBS News report from September 25 that revealed inquiries by the U.S. Army to reserve units about their availability for Southern Command within a timeframe of 90 to 120 days, in a context that officials linked to Cuba.
He also mentioned military training and movements in Puerto Rico, as well as the positioning of U.S. warships about 60 kilometers north of Varadero, recorded weeks after Maduro's capture.
According to Ferrer, if those actions against the Cuban regime have not yet materialized, the reason is the Iranian conflict, which has diverted Washington's attention and military resources.
He used a popular metaphor to explain it: "That situation in Iran gave them more luck than a chicken left to be a rooster, because by now, without the Iranian conflict, some of them would have long been in federal prisons in Florida—because Florida is where their case is going to land them in prison—and others would already be keeping company with Fidel Castro, participating in the morning talks that Fidel Castro has been giving in hell for some time now."
The opposition figure also dismissed the idea that the regime is capable of withstanding real pressure: "They are not in a position to carry out the wars they claim they are ready to fight."
The interview takes place a day after the Cuban delegation led by Ambassador Ernesto Soberón attempted to disrupt the forum "Cuba Libre: The Oppression That Havana Hides," organized by the U.S. Mission to the UN and Archivo Cuba, with shouts of "terrorists" and "get out of the UN" directed at the opposition members present at the event.
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, denounced the episode and described the Cuban officials as a "mob of diplomats" who harassed former political prisoners.
The immediate context also includes the annual voting of the UN General Assembly on the Cuban resolution against the U.S. embargo, scheduled for October 28, 2026. In 2025, that resolution received 165 votes in favor, seven against, and 12 abstentions.
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