Cuba will release 2 010 prisoners. This is one of the largest pardons in recent years and the second in a month.
This is reported by The New York Times.
The Cuban Embassy in Washington said the decision is related to an important religious Catholic holiday, Holy Week, and is a humanitarian and sovereign gesture.
In March, Cuba promised to release 51 political prisoners after talks with the Vatican, a priority for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. So far, 23 of the 51 have been released.
According to the NYT, Cuba is trying to appease the administration of the US President Donald Trump, which previously tried to crush the islandʼs government with a months-long oil blockade. Rubioʼs office would not comment on whether the release of the 2 010 political prisoners was part of the US-Cuba talks.
Among those released are young people, women, foreigners and people 60+ years old. The decision does not apply to those convicted of murder, sexual and political crimes, as well as for drugs. The head of the Department of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies said that the decision will be important in relations between Washington and Havana. Since 2011, Cuba has released more than 3 500 prisoners.
What is happening between Cuba and the USA?
In late January, Donald Trump declared a national emergency over Cuba and threatened tariffs on countries that supply it with oil. Trump accused Cuba of cooperating with hostile states to the United States, including Russia, China and Iran, as well as supporting the Hamas and Hezbollah groups. According to him, Cuba allows Russian and Chinese intelligence and military facilities to be located there, which monitor the United States.
Trump also said that the Cuban government violates human rights, persecutes the opposition, restricts freedom of speech and suppresses civil society. He stressed that the United States "will not tolerate the actions of the communist regime in Cuba".
The Cuban government responded by declaring that the United States posed a threat to the country and declared an international emergency. The blockade caused a complete collapse of Cubaʼs energy system — the island went into a blackout because the country was left without fuel for power plants.
The authorities were forced to cancel classes, limit the work of hospitals and transport. The crisis also provoked public protests, and airlines suspended flights to the island due to a shortage of jet fuel.
On March 6, Trump said that the Cuban government was “soon to fall” and that he wanted to make a deal with it. Trump also said that he intended to make US Secretary of State Marco Rubio his deputy in Cuba.
On March 19, the FT reported that Russia had sent two tankers carrying oil and gas to Cuba, despite US restrictions. These were the first deliveries of fuel to the island in three months. Trump himself said he saw no problem with Russian oil supplies to Cuba.
Author: Veronika Dovhanyuk
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.