Cuban opposition leaders on dialogue with the US: The solution to the suffering of the people must be at the center of the debate'

"Jose Daniel Ferrer, the renowned leader of the Cuban opposition, tuned in to the address, carefully analyzing and weighing each of the president's words. He didn't say anything new, just what they've always said, he asserted afterwards. He was alluding to the Castro regime's willingness to establish a dialogue with the United States, at a time of economic crisis that has cornered the Havana power elite."

"Four months after his expulsion, Ferrer has once again considered the possibility of returning. If I see the Cuban people in the streets tomorrow, courageous and resolute, determined not to return home until the true transition to democracy begins, I'll go back to Cuba, even if it's in a raft. I'll take the risk and go back, he says."

President Miguel Diaz-Canel will address the Cuban people via the presidency's YouTube channel at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 5, marking his first move away from X posts to a live address since tensions with Washington escalated. Jose Daniel Ferrer watched from Miami after his mid-October release and exile, judging the speech as reiteration of the regime's long-standing positions and a signal of willingness to pursue dialogue with the United States amid a crippling economic crisis. The regime faces heightened pressure after losing Venezuela as an oil supplier and U.S. actions targeting alternative suppliers. Ferrer says he may return if sustained street protests demand a transition to democracy.

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