Havana has freed 553 inmates under a Vatican-mediated deal, despite Trump’s reversal on US sanctions relief.
Cuba has released 553 prisoners as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement, despite the US decision to backtrack on its pledge to ease sanctions in return.
According to Cuba’s state-run media, the country’s highest judicial authority announced late on Monday that the final group of prisoners had been released.
In January, Havana stated that, with the Catholic Church’s mediation, it had reached an agreement with the Biden administration to release “political prisoners” in exchange for being removed from the US terrorism blacklist.
However, upon taking office, President Donald Trump reversed this decision, reinstating sanctions and temporarily pausing the process.
“Authorities of the Supreme People’s Court of Cuba confirm that these 553 individuals are now free and that the process has been completed,” the media report stated.
‘Political prisoners’
The Biden administration initially framed the agreement around the release of “political prisoners,” but Cuban officials described the freed individuals as “553 people sanctioned for various crimes.”
Human rights groups observed a gradual release of detainees over the past week, though they noted that some appeared to be common criminals.
The release comes amid ongoing international pressure from the US, the European Union, the Catholic Church, and human rights organizations for Cuba to free hundreds of protesters arrested during anti-government demonstrations on July 11, 2021.
These protests were the largest since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, fueled by widespread discontent over economic hardship, food shortages, and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Protesters called for political change and greater freedoms. Cuban authorities maintain that those jailed were involved in crimes such as arson, vandalism, and sedition.
Watchdog groups estimate that around 200 protest-related detainees were released last week, though limited information has made verification challenging.
The state media report did not specify how many of the 553 prisoners freed under the Vatican-brokered deal were linked to the 2021 protests.
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