The Cuban Government has freed all 53 of its political prisoners, as part of its normalisation deal with the United States, a senior US administration official said on Monday. “We welcome this very positive development and are pleased that the Cuban Government followed through on this commitment. Our Interests Section in Havana was able to verify these releases,” the official said.
“These political prisoners were individuals who had been cited by various human rights organisations as being imprisoned by the Cuban Government for exercising internationally protected freedoms or for their promotion of political and social reforms in Cuba,” the US official added. Dissident leaders said last week that Cuba had released 35 of the political detainees, as part of last month’s historic bilateral rapprochement.