Cuba said on Thursday it will release 51 prisoners in the coming days under an agreement with the Vatican, at a time the Communist government has come under increasing pressure \u2060from the United States to reform its one-party rule. The prisoner release follows two weeks after Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with Pope Leo in the Vatican and at a time when Cuba faces a severe economic crisis, one aggravated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of a virtual oil blockade on the Caribbean island. “In the spirit of goodwill and the close and fluid relations between the Cuban state and the Vatican, with which communication has historically been maintained regarding the review and release of prisoners, the Cuban government has decided to release 51 people sentenced to imprisonment in the coming days,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “All have served a significant portion of their sentences and have maintained good conduct in prison,” it said. Cuba said it ha
s granted pardons to 9,905 inmates since 2010 while granting early release to another 10,000 in the past three years. In March 2025, it granted early release to 553 prisoners in another Vatican-brokered deal. But human rights groups say the Communist government is holding hundreds of political prisoners, with estimates varying. It was unclear how many of the 51 prisoners subject to the latest release have been held on common crimes or charges related to public displays of dissent. “This sovereign decision is a common practice in our criminal justice system and has characterized the humanitarian trajectory of the revolution, which this time coincides with the approach of the religious celebrations of Holy Week,” Cuba said. The Cuban government has always rejected any suggestion it makes decisions under U.S. pressure. The timing of Thursday’s announcement happens to coincide with the most intense pressure campaign applied by Washington in decades. On Jan. 3, the U.S. captured Venezue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cuba said on Thursday it will release 51 prisoners in the coming days under an agreement with the Vatican, at a time the Communist government has come under increasing pressure \u2060from the United States to reform its one-party rule. The prisoner release follows two weeks after Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with Pope Leo in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n