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October 14, 2020

H o n . S t e v e n T. M n u c h i n

Secretary of the Treasury

U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Secretary Mnuchin,

On September 23, 2020, President Donald J. Trump, speaking from The White
House, announced new sanctions against Cuba's dictatorship and mentioned the
administration's efforts to help secure the release of Cuban human rights activist Jose
Daniel Ferrer. Mr. Ferrer is president of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, better known by its
Spanish-language acronym UNPACU. Mr. Ferrer and his colleagues were released this
spring, but the crackdown continues against Mr. Ferrer, UNPACU members, and other
dissidents and dvil society leaders throughout the island.

For your consideration, appended please find a list of Cuban regime and
Communist Party officials for sanctioning under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act ("GLOMAG"), 22 U.S.C. 2656; the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act ("lEEPA"), et. seq. and other U.S. laws and regulations authorizing the use of
targeted economic sanctions for human rights abuses and for other purposes. These
Communist Party and regime officials were involved, directly and indirectly, in the
unlawful detention, torture, and imprisonment of Cuban dissident Mr. Ferrer and other
members of UNPACU. The designation of the persons on this list would also be
consistent with President Donald Trump's NSPM-5, "Strengthening the Policy of the
U n i t e d S t a t e s To w a r d C u b a . "

The Global Liberty Alliance working with UNPACU members and independent
lawyers in Cuba is investigating the list of alleged perpetrators and preparing a dossier
on each for review by the U.S. government for sanctions, visa and travel restrictions,
and other prohibitions to ensure that human rights violators are held to account and not
allowed to enter the United States. Due to the many challenges stemming from
documenting human rights abuses in Communist Cuba and the ongoing targeting by
the Communist Party of UNPACU members and other resistance leaders, we will
submit the dossiers and supporting documentation on a rolling basis.

A part of The Global Rule of Law & Liberty Legal Defense Fund
globalllbertyalllance.org
 GLOBAL LIBERTY ALLIANCE

At this juncture, this effort led by UNPACU has managed to identify over twenty
regime officials that participated or who continue to participate in brutal, targeted, and
coordinated attacks on UNPACU, its leadership, and other civil society leaders on the
island. Please note that in Cuba, listing names in this manner is a high crime against the
state, but UNPACU and other dvil society leaders are committed to the cause of liberty
and willingly undertake these risks.

Thank you for supporting the cause of liberty in Cuba and holding to account
regime officials at all levels of the system who engage in violations of fundamental
freedoms, including the persecution of American citizens and U.S. Legal Permanent
residents. Designating some or all of these individuals will send a strong message to
Cuba's resistance movement that the United States supports their efforts and will also
serve as a warning to would-be abusers to think twice before engaging in unlawful
activities.

Sincerely,

cc: Ms. Mara Tekach, Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Enclosures (3)
1. An affidavit from UNPACU President, Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer
2 . U n o f fi c i a l T r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e A f fi d a v i t f r o m U N PA C U P r e s i d e n t
3. G.L. A. Press Release, April 3, 2020, on the release of UNPACU leaders

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 DECLARACION JI RADADE CONFORMIDAD CON LANORMA
CORRESPONDIENTE. POR JOSE DANIELFERRER
Yo, Jose Daniel Ferrer, habiendo primero prestado debido iuramentn
soy Coordinador General de La Union Patriotica de Cuba (UNPACU^ v T J T
para vincular legalmente . ^ ^ tengo la facultad
1 Doy fe de que. al ser Coordinador General de la UNPACU he anfnri^«H« .1 a i-
pora
l Lb
i enadGo
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i formaconsobrea
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regimen cubano de la manera que viene a continuacion; ^
2.Alrededor del 1 " de octubre de 2019, miembros de la UNPACU, yo incluido. fuimos
detenidos, torturados y encarcelados sin derecho por el regimen cubano como violacion
directa de nuesiros derechos humanos fundamentales;

3. Cuba es un estado totalitario policial, en el que las leyes se ignor m 0 se manipulan de

manera regular para perseguir al pueblo:

4. Bajo la Constitucion Cubana debcmos de tener ciertos derechos, pero estos derechos solo
existen de fornia nominal:

5. La UNPACU se ha esforzado para exptmcr las actividades ilegales que llevan a cabo los
oficiales cubanos corruptos y asi ayudar a construir una nueva nacidn;

6. La UNPACU promueve y defiende los derechos humanos que se reconocen en casi todos
los paises a nivel intemacional,

7. La UNPACU tiene como objetivo restaurar la libertad de expresion, de culto, de

asociacion y de reunion en nuestro pais,

8. La UNPACU lucha sin cesar para traerle la democracia a Cuba y deshacerse del regimen
totalitario que ha diezmado el pais durante decadas;

9. Al ser uno de los mayores grupos de disidentes de Cuba, con unos 1.200 miembros
estimados, la UNPACU cuenta con el apoyo de muchos en la isia en linea, y tambien con
el de defensores intemacionales de derechos humanos.

10 Segun mi leal saber v entender. los individuos que se nombran a continuacion

participaron en las |||||||[|||||||||[^^ de derechos humanos a la UNPACU:
 11. En nombre de la UNPACU, doy mi apoyo a los esfuerzos de la Alianza por la Libertad
Global de conseguir la justicia en estos asuntos y en instar al gobiemo estadoumdense, a
los aliados y a otras naciones, a que sancionen a estos veinte violadores de derechos
humanos hasta donde la ley permite.

Afirmd so pena de peijurio en conformidad con las leyes de los Estados Unidos de
America que todo lo antecedenle es verdadero y correcto.
CLx—^ '

c/t, 5'eg»ZoZ-0
Jose Daniel Ferrer ^ ^echa

Nombre completo, Festi^ 1 Fdbfa

. /

Nombre completo, Testigo 2 Fecha

Pane 2 of 2
 U N O F F I C I A L T R A N S L AT I O N

A F F I D AV I T I N A C C O R D A N C E W I T H C O R R E S P O N D I N G L A W, B Y J O S E
DANIEL FERRER

I, Jose Daniel Ferrer, having first been duly sworn, declare that I am the President of the
Union Patriotica de Cuba ("Patriotic Union of Cuba," or "UNPACU"), and that I am of sound mind.

1. I affirm that I, as leader of UNPACU, have authorized the Global Liberty Alliance and
independent lawyers to present information on the human rights violations committed by
officials of the Cuban regime in the following manner:

2. On or around October 1, 2019, members of UNPACU, including myself, were unlawfully

detained, tortured, and imprisoned by the Cuban regime as a direct violation of our basic
human rights;

3. Cuba is a totalitarian police state, where the laws are routinely ignored or manipulated in
order to persecute the people;

4. Under the Cuban Constitution we are supposed to have certain rights, but these rights are
there in name only;

5. UNPACU has been working to expose the unlawful activity carried out by corrupt Cuban
regime officials and so help build a new nation;

6. UNPACU promotes and defends the human rights that have been recognized by virtually
every country internationally;

7. UNPACU aims to restore freedom of speech, religion, association, and assembly in our
country;

8. UNPACU fights tirelessly to bring democracy to Cuba and rid itself of the totalitarian
regime that has decimated the country for decades;

9. Being one of the largest dissident groups in Cuba, with an estimated 1,200 members,
UNPACU is supported by many people on the island online, and also by international
human rights advocates.

10. Upon information and belief, the following individuals participated in the aforementioned
human rights violations against UNPACU:

a .

b.

c .

UNOFFICIAL T R A N S L AT I O N
 U N O F F I C I A L T R A N S L AT I O N

11. On behalf of UNPACU, I support The Global Liberty Allianee's efforts to seek justice in
these matters and to urge the United States government, as well as those of allies and other
nations, to sanction these twenty human rights violators to the full extent the law allows.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that all the
foregoing is true and correct.

Jose Daniel Ferrer Date

Name, First Witness Date

Name, Second Witness Date

U N O F F I C I A L T R A N S L AT I O N
 Courthouse Square
510 King Street, Suite 350
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
P 703.566.3037
@GLALegalDefense

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Veronica Mayer
Friday, April 3, 2020 (703) 566-3037

JOSÉ DANIEL FERRER, 3 OTHER UNPACU MEMBERS PUT UNDER HOUSE

ARREST, BUT HOUSE ARREST IS NOT FREEDOM
As COVID-19 Looms Over Cuba, Four UNPACU Activists Sentenced to Four Years of House
Arrest

Alexandria, Virginia - On April 3, the Communist government of Cuba released Cuban

opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (“UNPACU”), along
with fellow UNPACU members Fernando González Vaillant, José Pupo Chaveco, and Roilan
Zárraga Ferrer, after over six months of imprisonment. The four men have been given four years
of house arrest. Mr. Ferrer has been subjected to all forms of torture since his detention. The four
men’s March 12 sentence hearing was indefinitely delayed without explanation.

“We are waiting for sentence details from the regime's kangaroo court process so that
UNPACU's lawyers can assess what legal reasoning is, now, being used by Party leaders on
these innocent leaders. However, Mr. José Daniel and his colleagues should be permanently
freed from Communist Party of Cuba shackles, and not under house arrest,” said Jason Poblete
of the Global Liberty Alliance (“GLA”).

Messrs. Ferrer, González Vaillant, Pupo Chaveco, and Zárraga Ferrer were unlawfully
imprisoned since October 1, 2019. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo strongly condemned the
latest detention of Mr. Ferrer on October 18, 2019. On February 13, 2020, the Inter-American
Commission for Human Rights (“IACHR”) of the Organization of American States (“OAS”)
granted precautionary measures for Mr. Ferrer’s three fellow prisoners, in response to the GLA’s
application. With the support of Mr. Ferrer’s family and a coalition from across Cuba’s
opposition movement, the GLA requested that the IACHR press the Cuban government to adopt
measures to protect the lives of Mr. Ferrer and his unlawfully detained UNPACU colleagues.

An on-island legal expert states, “José Daniel’s case is still unjust, because it is all a
brew concocted by the government, which is always trying to violate his human rights. The
accusations made against him are unsubstantiated, and his sentence went against Cuban law
from the outset. The regime dreamt up an endless list of baseless crimes. In the end, house arrest
is just another means of control; José Daniel cannot leave the island and will be surveilled by
the State. The release is due to international pressure and because José Daniel was on hunger
strike. Given the coronavirus situation, the regime didn’t want to be responsible for any bad
complications.”

A part of The Global Rule of Law & Liberty Legal Defense Fund
globallibertyalliance.org
1
 The Cuban Constitution purports to guarantee prisoners’ rights to a speedy trial, the
presumption of innocence, fair treatment, and access to visits from family or other intimates. The
state violated all of these rights in its treatment of Mr. Ferrer and his fellow UNPACU members.

Even though at present the four men are free from prison, they are still under house arrest
without justification. Justice has not yet been served. GLA will continue to support Mr. Ferrer,
Mr. González Vaillant, Pupo Chaveco, and Zárraga Ferrer and their legal counsel going forward
in the fight for justice and freedom.

Founded in 2011, UNPACU is the largest opposition group in Cuba. Since its creation, its
members have been subjected to imprisonment, torture, forced labor and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment and punishment. Close to 50 UNPACU leaders are currently held as political
prisoners in Cuba. You can learn more about UNPACU here.

The Global Liberty Alliance is committed to defending fundamental rights and the rule of
law, including the right to free speech. You can find more information about the work that GLA
is doing for people of different faith traditions on our blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account.

###

GLA/UNPACU CIDH/Nov. 14, 2019

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