Cuba: Two dissidents, including historic opponent José Daniel Ferrer, arrested

Historic Cuban opposition figure José Daniel Ferrer and another dissident were arrested in Cuba on Tuesday, April 29, after the conditional release granted to them in January was revoked.

José Daniel Ferrer, 54, and Felix Navarro, 72, were released as part of a deal negotiated with the Vatican after former US President Joe Biden removed the island from the US blacklist of countries supporting terrorism, which included the release of 553 Cuban prisoners. Donald Trump later reinstated Cuba on the list.

The court has revoked "the parole of two convicts, belonging to the group of 553, who did not respect what is established by law during the probationary period to which they were subject," the Supreme Court announced in a statement, citing the case of the two dissidents, but without specifying their place of detention.

José Daniel Ferrer, founder of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) movement and advocate of the peaceful struggle for democratic change on the island, was released on January 16 in Santiago de Cuba.

His sister, Ana Belkis Ferrer, who lives in the United States, announced on X that security forces had "attacked the main headquarters of Unpacu" at the dissident's home on Tuesday morning and had "taken" José Daniel Ferrer, his wife and their son, as well as activists from his organization "to unknown locations." The dissident's wife and son were later released after "several hours" of detention, she said.

Mr. Ferrer was imprisoned on July 11, 2021, while attempting to join the historic anti-government protests sweeping the country. A court had revoked his parole and sent him back to prison to complete a four-and-a-half-year sentence he received in 2020. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court justified the decision to revoke his parole again, stating that he had failed to appear in court for two consecutive days.

"Not only did he not appear, but he also announced (...) on social media, in flagrant defiance and violation of the law, that he would not appear before the judicial authority," the court added. Since his release, the dissident has defied the authorities by criticizing the communist regime on social media. He has also set up a canteen at his home to accommodate the poor, funded by Cubans abroad.

He told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that authorities did not appreciate his social activism because it highlighted the poverty of some residents.

Felix Navarro, released on January 18 as part of the agreement with the Vatican and living about 100 kilometers from Havana, also had his conditional release revoked for having "left his commune seven times without requesting permission from the sentencing judge ." He "was arrested at his home at 6:30 a.m. (...), " said opposition leader Manuel Cuesta Morrua on X.