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The Cuban government will release more than 2,000 prisoners, as US pressure continues to mount.
Anannouncement by the Cuban regime said the releases are intended as a “humanitarian gesture” for Easter and doesn’t mention the ongoing US oil blockade.
The prisoners are foreigners and Cubans of all ages.
The statement makes no mention of the crimes they were accused of committing or the conditions of their release.
Cuba is widely reckoned to have thousands of political prisoners.
The decision “was based on a careful analysis of the characteristics of the crimes committed by those sanctioned, their good behavior in prison, having served a significant portion of their sentence, and their health status.”
The Cuban regime has released prisoners as part of diplomatic negotiations on multiple occasions. In January 2025, Havana released 553 prisoners during talks with the Vatican, when the Biden announced its intention to lift the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Trump administration has put significant pressure on Cuba in the last three months, including an oil blockade that has seen widespread blackouts.
Senior members of the Trump regime, including the President himself, have indicated that regime change is the ultimate goal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, himself the son of Cuban exiles, has made clear his support for regime change, and President Trump repeated his call for a “friendly takeover” of the island, before adding, “It may not be a friendly takeover.”
The US Attorney’s office in South Florida is reported to be “preparing indictments against Cuba’s political and military leadership—including members of the Castro family—on a range of possible charges related to alleged violent crime, drug-trafficking, immigration, and espionage.”
The Trump administration is also said to be discussing roles in a future Cuban administration with “wealthy Republican donors of Cuban ancestry.”
The favored approach is to achieve regime change with a minimum of upheaval, avoiding a humanitarian crisis, so that American money can flow back into Cuba.
“We control our hemisphere, and we have the ability to do this,” an official told The Atlantic.
“We want these hostile regimes out of our hemisphere, and we’re going to set up the business community, because we don’t believe in diplomacy.”
“An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness,” the State Department said in a statement.
“This is the tragic result of over sixty years of Communist rule.”
While the Cuban regime have now entered into talks with the US, they have maintained the President’s status is not up for negotiation.
