Cuba

Press conference in Berlin

On 27 May 2026, former political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer was in Berlin. The programme included meetings with representatives of the Federal Foreign Office, Cuban activists, journalists and former political prisoners. The central demand throughout was: freedom for all political prisoners in Cuba. At a press conference organised by IGFM and Prisoners Defenders under the title “Will the regime in Cuba fall soon?”, the critical human rights situation in Cuba was highlighted and the question explored as to whether the Castro regime is on the brink of collapse in the face of ongoing civil protests. High-profile speakers gave compelling accounts of the ongoing oppression and the plight of over a thousand political prisoners.

The experts also drew attention to a growing security threat to Europe, particularly due to the deployment of Cuban mercenaries on Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine. Speakers included Diana Luna, Latin America specialist at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation; José Daniel Ferrer, a former political prisoner from Cuba and founder of the civil rights movement UNPACU; Legren Vélez Rigondeaux, a board member of MenschenDeCuba e.V.; and Javier Larrondo Calafat, president of the human rights organisation Prisoners Defenders. José Daniel Ferrer, who was imprisoned for political reasons for many years, reported on the appalling conditions in Cuban prisons.

Javier Larrondo, José Daniel Ferrer, Maurice Gajan, Legren Vélez © ISHR

During discussions with the Federal Foreign Office, the dire situation regarding supplies and human rights in Cuba was outlined. The Cuban regime must not continue to be ‘rewarded’ through the EU-Cuba Agreement (PDAC/ADPC) due to its systematic violation of human rights. Following the visit to the Federal Foreign Office, the press conference and the Brandenburg Gate, a guided tour of the former Stasi prison in Hohenschönhausen was on the programme. IGFM member Jorge L. García Vázquez guided José Daniel Ferrer through the Stasi prison in Hohenschönhausen.

Javier Larrondo, Legren Vélez, José Daniel Ferrer, Valerio Krüger © ISHR

Jorge Luis García Vázquez (born in 1959 in Havana, Cuba) came to the GDR in 1982 as an interpreter for Cuban contract workers. The Cuban secret service attempted to recruit him as an informant, which he refused. Because he had telephoned the US Embassy in East Berlin on behalf of a Cuban musician to enquire about escape routes, he was arrested in March 1987 and flown back to Cuba a week later. There, he was subjected to various forms of reprisal, was banned from working and from leaving the country, and was briefly imprisoned. In 1992, he was allowed to leave Cuba. Today he lives in Berlin and is active in the working group ‘Democracy for Cuba – Berlin’.

Diana Luna, José Daniel Ferrer, Valerio Krüger © ISHR

Quotes of the Speakers

José Daniel Ferrer

José Daniel Ferrer (Former political prisoner from Cuba and founder of the civil rights movement Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU)) © ISHR

“Ante el hambre, los apagones, la crisis de transporte, la crisis de la salud, la falta de medicina, la crisis de la vivienda…, el cubano que sale a protestar generalmente corre el riesgo de terminar en las carceles (…).”

“Faced with hunger, power outages, the transportation crisis, the health crisis, the shortage of medicine, the housing crisis…, Cubans who take to the streets to protest generally run the risk of ending up in jail (…).”

“En 2019 llegue a prision pesando 98 kg de peso, y en 6 meses sali de prision y cuando me mire en el espejo, (…), yo mismo me asuste. (…), habia perdido casi 30 kg de peso en 6 meses.”

“In 2019, I was sent to prison weighing 98 kg, and six months later, when I came out of prison and looked at myself in the mirror, (…), I was shocked. (…), I had lost almost 30 kg in six months.”

“La mentalidad del regimen cubano es que ellos son quienes deciden y controlan todo y que si la Union Europea quiere hablar de derechos humanos con ellos, tienen que decirselo en privado para no hacerle caso.”

“The Cuban regime’s mindset is that they are the ones who decide and control everything, and that if the European Union wants to discuss human rights with them, it has to do so in private so they can ignore it.“

Diana Luna

Diana Luna (Latin America Specialist, Friedrich Naumann Foundation) © ISHR

“(…) una isla como Cuba tiene peligro para Europa. (…) el peligro indirecto que tiene para Europa es a traves del reclutamiento de soldados”

“(…) an island like Cuba has a threat for Europe. (…) the indirect danger it poses to Europe is through the recruitment of soldiers”

“(…) Sabemos que hay diplomaticos en la embajada, por ejemplo, cubana en Belorrusia, que son los que hacen todo este reclutamiento especifico, jovenes entre 18 a 20 anos, (…) y los traen (…) con la promesa de que van a ser participe de trabajos de construccion. (…) al final lo que ellos obtienen es una vida de 150 dias que logran sobrevivir. (…) Osea realmente los llevan a la muerte.”

“(…) We know that there are diplomats at the embassy, for example, the Cuban embassy in Belarus, who are the ones carrying out all this specific recruitment of young men between the ages of 18 and 20, (…) and they bring them here (…) with the promise that they will be working on construction projects. (…) In the end, what they get is a 150-day life that they manage to survive. (…) In other words, they’re really leading them to death.“

Javier Larrondo Calafat

Javier Larrondo (Cuban-Spanish human rights activist and president of the organization Prisoners Defenders)

“Atacan a cualquier ciudadano Cubano desafecto, o que se queja, o que require servicios basicos que desde hace muchos anos faltan en Cuba.”

“They attack any Cuban citizen who is disaffected, or who complains, or who demands basic services that have been lacking in Cuba for many years.”

“Ese 90% de la población que hoy en dia esta en contra del regimen y le tiene terror (…), cuando intenta hablar son acusados, son detendios, son citados, son amenazandos y posteriormente procesados penalmente y llevados a prision.”

“That 90% of the population that today opposes the regime and is terrified of it (…), when they try to speak out, they are accused, arrested, summoned, threatened, and subsequently prosecuted and sent to prison.”

“(…) Lo que tiene que hacer Europa es ponerse de parte del pueblo cubano , emplearse firmemente y unirse a toda accion que, con firmeza, pueda traer la democracia.”

“(…) What Europe must do is side with the Cuban people, take a firm stand, and join any effort that can resolutely bring about democracy.”

Legren Vélez Rigondeaux