Cuba begins releasing more than 2,000 prisoners
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Cuba has begun releasing prisoners after saying it would free 2,010 as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture” while facing continued pressure from the US.
More than 20 inmates emerged from La Lima prison in eastern Havana, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning, AFP reported.
Those freed will include foreign nationals, young people, women and those aged over 60, a statement from the Cuban embassy in the US said on Thursday.
Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has made clear his desire to change Cuba’s Communist leadership and has blocked oil shipments to the island, causing severe fuel shortages and widespread blackouts.
Last week, a Russian-owned tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil became the first to dock in one of Cuba’s ports since early January – something Trump said he had “no problem” with.
Cuba holds hundreds of political prisoners behind bars, according to Human Rights Watch, with government critics subject to harassment and criminal prosecution.
Eligibility for the release was based on “a careful analysis” of offences, along with “their good conduct while in prison, the fact that they had served a significant portion of their sentences, and their state of health”, the embassy said.
It said the release was taking place “in the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week, which is a customary practice in our criminal justice system”.
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