Cuba begins releasing more than 2,000 prisoners as US pressure mounts

[El Presidente]

https://thehill.com/policy/international/5814759-cuba-prison-release-trump-pressure/

 

 

The Cuban government on Thursday said it would release 2,010 prisoners in a move that comes as President Trump has put the island’s government under extreme economic pressure with an effective oil blockade.  

The Cuban Embassy in the U.S. published the announcement on social platform X. The government said the prisoner release was being done as a “humanitarian gesture” and taking place in the context of Holy Week, without citing the tension with the Trump administration.

The government said the prisoners affected include foreigners and Cuban citizens residing abroad, young people, women and older adults. Those slated for release served a significant portion of their sentences and exhibited good conduct, according to the statement, and officials also measured the nature of their crimes and state of their health. 

Their announcement did not include a timeline or under what conditions the prisoners would be released, nor did it mention the crimes they were accused of committing. The Associated Press reported the announcement did not provide details on whether those pardoned were protesters convicted and sentenced for terrorism, contempt or public disorder.

The Cuban government denies holding political prisoners, but the activist group Prisoners Defended registered 1,214 people imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba as of February, according to the AP.

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The release comes as the Trump administration is using extreme sanctions to pressure the Caribbean island’s leaders to carry out political and economic reforms, though the exact details of reforms are not public.

Trump instituted an effective fuel blockade against the nation at the end of January, cutting off the island’s supply of Venezuelan oil following the audacious U.S. capture of Venezuela’s former authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

The president has said he will have the “honor” of taking Cuba, and he tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to carry out talks with officials on the island to demand a change in behavior in exchange for sanctions relief. 

Last month, Rubio said Cuba had to change “dramatically” to receive sanctions relief from the U.S. 

“Suffice it to say that the embargo is tied to political change on the island … the embargo is codified and — but the bottom line is their economy doesn’t work,” he said in the Oval Office during Trump’s meeting with the Irish taoiseach. 

“And the people in charge — they don’t know how to fix it,” Rubio added. “So, they have to get new people in charge.”

 

 

 

[puromaniac]

Muy interesante.