Justice Cuba completes release of 553 prisoners
Cuba has released more than 550 political prisoners early, according to its Supreme Court. In doing so, the country fulfilled an agreement made with former US President Joe Biden.
11.03.2025, 05:07
SDA
In January, 378 applications for release were submitted to the court, in February 175 applications, said Maricela Sosa Ravelo, Vice-President of the Cuban Supreme Court, on Cuban state television on Monday. This concerned "a total of 553 people". "The process has been successfully completed."
The former US administration had declared in mid-January that it would remove Cuba from the US terror list if the island state released 553 prisoners in return, including opposition activists imprisoned during the suppression of the mass protests in 2021. Cuba then began releasing prisoners.
According to non-governmental organizations, 192 people were released as part of the agreement brokered by the Vatican - including the prominent dissident Daniel Ferrer. Most of them had been arrested during the suppression of mass protests against the Cuban government in July 2021.
Cuba on terror list again
However, Joe Biden's successor in office, Donald Trump, reversed the decision immediately after his return to the White House and put Cuba back on the terror list.
According to human rights organizations, the releases were initially halted after Trump's order, but resumed in isolated cases in the weeks that followed. However, the Cuban authorities have neither published a list of the prisoners nor provided information on when they were released.
Human rights organizations and the US embassy in Havana estimate the number of political prisoners on the island at around 1,000 people.
