Another prominent Cuban dissident, former political prisoner and independent journalist Jose Daniel Ferrer, has been denied a passport by Cuban authorities. Like fellow dissident Angel Moya, who was also denied a passport, Ferrer is a member of the Group of 75, victims of Cuba's brutal dissident crack down in 2003 dubbed the Black Spring.

While the infamous "white card" exit permit used by the Castro dictatorship to control who can and cannot leave the island was eliminated by the supposed migratory reforms of dictator Raul Castro, the Cuban regime still controls who can and cannot be issued a passport. This in effect still gives the island's totalitarian government complete control over the ability of the Cuban people to leave the island. Therefore, this "reform" appears to be not much of a reform but just a change in bureaucratic procedures. All Cubans are not free to travel as it has been widely reported, only Cubans who the dictatorship decides can travel. In other words, the policy has not changed one bit.

Martí Noticias has the report (in Spanish) on Ferrer's case HERE.