HAVANA, May 25 (Reuters) – Cuba on Monday published the names of thousands of prisoners covered by an amnesty announced last month as the island’s government holds tense negotiations with the United States on a range of disputes including political prisoners.
A decree from President Miguel Diaz-Canel containing the list was published in Cuba’s government gazette. At least some of the prisoners have been released already.
The decree, signed April 3, grants “full and definitive pardon” to an extensive list of prisoners, describing the move as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture.”
Cuba said in April it planned to free more than 2,000 prisoners from the island’s jails, in the second prisoner amnesty announced this year by the communist-run government.
The government had not previously identified the prisoners to be released.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm whether any of the prisoners were held on charges related to anti-government protests.
Cuba has repeatedly denied it holds political prisoners. Authorities instead say those jailed during protests face charges of public disorder, resisting arrest, robbery and vandalism.
Many high-profile dissidents and protesters from island-wide protests in 2021 have been freed in recent agreements and amnesties.
The April amnesty was Cuba’s largest in years. It was announced a day after Cuba’s top diplomat in Washington publicly invited the U.S. government to help overhaul Cuba’s crippled economy as part of ongoing negotiations.
Washington has since stepped up pressure on Cuba’s communist government, including announcing murder charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro on May 20, in a sharp escalation of tensions between the longtime Cold War rivals.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a day later that the chances of a negotiated settlement with Cuba were “not high,” while his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez accused Rubio of inciting military aggression and falsely labeling Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism.
(Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Cynthia Osterman)
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