José Daniel Ferrer recounts years in Cuban prisons, describes graffiti campaign and surveillance amid renewed protests

José Daniel Ferrer, identified in the interview as an opposition activist and former political prisoner, told Radio y TV Martí on Feb. 14 that he spent "12 años y medio en prisión" and described prolonged repression against dissidents inside Cuba.

Ferrer's account centered on everyday repression and the prison system. "En Cuba se sobrevive... No es vida vivir sin derechos, sin libertad, todo el tiempo con temor," he said, describing widespread fear, loss of employment for outspoken people and repeated detentions ranging from hours to months. He said the regime uses imprisonment, isolation and physical abuse to silence critics.

Ferrer listed multiple detention sites where he was held and said many activists face repeated short-term detentions in police cells even when not given long prison sentences. "No vamos a contar las detenciones en calabozos de unidades policiales... Pero sumarían varios meses si las unimos todas," he said, citing a mix of lengthy sentences and shorter confinements.

He described prison tactics intended to break prisoners' will: prolonged solitary confinement, beatings, severe food restrictions, suspension of family visits and placement with sick common inmates. Ferrer said authorities sometimes expose political prisoners to common inmates with illnesses such as tuberculosis as part of mistreatment.

Ferrer also explained what he called a common interrogation method in which officers pose as sympathetic and then demand scripted statements in exchange for favors or release. According to him, interrogators "te dicen... si yo te ayudo, tú tienes que ayudarme" and pressure prisoners to denounce other opposition figures or to adopt a softened, pro-regime script.

On the topic of recent unrest, Ferrer said protests since mid-2021 have continued in smaller, localized forms and that activists have begun a graffiti campaign in many towns. "Desde ya hace más de 3 meses... A partir del 3 de enero aparecieron centenares del letrero, pancartas, carteles, grafiti," he said, citing slogans such as "cayó Maduro, pronto caerá Canel" and urging people to "pinta tu grafiti, mancha una valla comunista por toda Cuba."

Ferrer said security forces respond by deploying plainclothes informants and collaborators near likely graffiti sites and by detaining people with weak or circumstantial links to activism. He described surveillance tactics that include teams posing as couples or loitering near the Malecón to identify participants.

The interview also included broader assertions about cross-border influence: Ferrer said agents from Cuba "fueron enviados allá para enseñar a los represores venezolanos los métodos, las técnicas de control de tortura, de sometimiento," an assertion he offered to explain similarities in repression in Venezuela and Cuba.

Rincón closed the program after the allotted time, and Ferrer reiterated his hope that "Cuba y Venezuela pronto van a ser libres." The interview did not include documentary evidence of the claims; it presents Ferrer's first-person account and descriptions of tactics and events he attributes to Cuba's security services.

What happens next: the interview is a testimonial account intended to inform listeners about Ferrer's experience and his view of ongoing activism; no formal action or verification was presented during the segment.