Florida Senator Rick Scott (R), demanded the Cuban Regime release Cuban political activist and Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU) founder, José Daniel Ferrer after his arrest in April 2025.
“Reports of [José] being tortured by the Castro/Díaz-Canel regime as they wrongfully imprisoned him are horrific. We must have immediate proof of life and demand a humanitarian and medical visit to ensure José Daniel is safe and that he gets the help he needs,” he said. “The world is watching the regime’s evils unfold, and we will not forget.”
While imprisoned, authorities brutally beat Ferrer after he began a hunger strike in protest.
Ferrer’s sister, Ana Belkis Ferrer Garcia, released a statement claiming that officials transferred criminals serving the dictatorship from Boniato prison to Mar Verde to beat José Daniel. She continued, revealing Ferrer’s planned hunger strike was in protest of “his arbitrary imprisonment, the abuses, the hunger, the rotten food, and the contaminated water that is making so many prisoners ill.”
She finished her statement by condemning the Cuban Regime and demanding the release of all political prisoners.
“We condemn the criminal acts against José Daniel and hold Raúl Castro, Diaz Canel, and all their henchmen responsible for everything they have done and continue to do. We demand his immediate FREEDOM and that of all POLITICAL PRISONERS,” she stated.
Authorities have arrested José Ferrer three times for various acts of political dissidence, most recently in 2021 for his role in the 2021 "Patria y Vida" protests.
After his release in January 2025 as part of a deal in which Cuba freed political prisoners in exchange for its removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, authorities arrested Ferrer again for an alleged parole violation.
