Cuba releases imprisoned activist José Daniel Ferrer after agreement with the US

A prominent Cuban dissident and activist has been freed from prison as part of a broader prisoner release agreement between the Cuban government and the United States.

José Daniel Ferrer spent more than three years in prison after the anti-government protests that hit the communist island in 2021.

Under the agreement negotiated by the Catholic Church, outgoing US President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism just days before the end of his term.

In exchange, Cuba said it would release 553 people, many of whom were detained during anti-government protests.

the island began to free the first of hundreds of prisoners on Wednesday, freeing about 20 people, according to local NGOs.

Ferrer is one of the most recognized names among Cuban dissidents and pro-democracy activists. The 54-year-old leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), the country’s opposition group, was jailed and charged with public disorder following the 2021 protests.

“I am at home, in good health, but with the courage to continue fighting for the freedom of Cuba,” Ferrer told Reuters in a telephone conversation.

Many of the prisoners released this week were arrested in association with the 2021 protests, during which citizens demanded that the Cuban government do more to alleviate widespread food shortages and reduce spiraling prices.

Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism came just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, has criticized the decision to ease sanctions on Cuba, suggesting it could be reversed.

At his Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday, Rubio said, referring to some of the sanctions on Cuba that the Biden administration rescinded on Tuesday, that “the new administration is not bound by that decision.”

Earlier, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Fox News that “whatever (the Biden administration) is doing now, we can do it again, and no one should get their hopes up in terms of a change in Cuba.” “. policy”.

The Cuban government says the island’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism is deeply unfair and aims to harm its economy by making it impossible for Cuba to access international bank loans.