Cuba completes release of prisoners following Vatican-mediated deal

By Linda Bordoni 

In one of his final official acts, and in the wake of a Vatican-mediated deal with the Cuban government, Joe Biden on January 14 removed Cuba from a US terrorism blacklist in exchange for an agreement by the Cuban government to free 553 prisoners.

The United States, the European Union, the Catholic Church and rights groups have long pushed the island nation to release hundreds of protesters jailed following anti-government protests in July 2021, the largest since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

In a statement after the deal, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, "As part of the close and fluid relations with the Vatican State, I informed Pope Francis of [the decision to free the prisoners] in the spirit of the 2025 Jubilee."

The deal was overturned by the new US presidency just six days after Donald Trump was sworn in, but prisoners have continued to be sporadically released.

In February, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, called the gradual release of the Cuban prisoners „a sign of great hope“ at the start of the Holy Year, and he expressed hope for more "gestures of clemency“ from governments in the spirit of the Jubilee.

Speaking late on Monday, the vice president of Cuba‘s top court said on state television that the process was successfully completed.

According to rights groups, opposition activists and a dissident leader are among those released. However, two dissident artists and a musician co-author of the anti-government protests anthem are still in jail. Observers claim that many of those released are not political prisoners.

According to official figures, around 500 demonstrators over the July 2021 protests have been sentenced, in some cases to up to 25 years in prison.

(Source: various news agencies)