WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 01: Cuban political dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, 45, talks with reporters at the Raben Group offices during a tour of the United States June 1, 2016 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Cuban dissident José Daniel Ferrer has arrived in the United States after being freed from prison in Cuba, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday.

Ferrer was released and allowed to depart for the US after a formal request from the US government, according to the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

His family members were also able to depart, the foreign ministry statement said.

Ferrer reportedly said in a letter this month that he would accept exile rather than continue to be tortured in prison, after his brief parole was revoked.

“José Daniel Ferrer, a courage

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