The Cuban government announced Thursday the early release of 2,010 prisoners as a humanitarian gesture במסגרת Holy Week, the second prisoner release announced in less than a month, amid growing pressure from Washington. The pardon, approved by the government, is a humanitarian and sovereign gesture taking place in the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week, according to an official statement read on Cuban television.
The announcement comes shortly after the administration of Donald Trump eased the de facto oil blockade it has imposed on the island for nearly three months and allowed a Russian tanker to deliver crude oil to the country, which is mired in a deep energy crisis. Trump has not hidden his desire for regime change in Cuba, located just 150 kilometers from the United States. According to Washington, the island represents an exceptional threat because of its close ties with Russia, China, and Iran.
In recent months, the Republican magnate has stepped up his threats against Havana and has even spoken of taking the island, which is governed by the Communist Party. When announcing the pardon, authorities did not provide a list of the prisoners who will benefit or the reasons for their detention. They did say, however, that the prisoners had served a significant portion of their sentences and had maintained good behavior, according to the official statement.
The government also took into account the health condition of the prisoners who will be pardoned, among whom are young people, women, adults over 60, as well as foreigners and Cuban citizens living abroad, the text added.
It emphasized that those convicted of sexual assault, violent child sexual abuse, murder, homicide, drug offenses, theft, and robbery involving violence or force with the use of weapons or child victims, corruption of minors, crimes against authority, repeat offenders, and habitual offenders were excluded.
Is dialogue advancing?
According to the official statement, the pardon announced Thursday is the fifth carried out by the Cuban government since 2011, benefiting more than 11,000 people. The government announced on March 12 the early release of 51 prisoners as a show of goodwill toward the Vatican, a historic mediator between Havana and Washington.
A day later, the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel announced that the country was maintaining talks with the United States, confirming what Trump had been saying since mid-January. Academic Michael Bustamante of the University of Miami noted that it is not the first time Cuban authorities have made a gesture like this, perhaps not on this scale, on the eve of a religious holiday such as Easter.
However, one is tempted to conclude, or at least to ask, whether the Trump administration’s decision to allow the entry of a Russian ship could be related to this matter, the expert added. It does not seem far-fetched to think this may be a sign that part of the dialogue between the two governments is moving forward. Perhaps slowly, but moving forward, he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban origin and a harsh critic of the communist government, told Fox News on Tuesday that Cuba needs economic and political reforms. You cannot fix its economy unless you change its system of government, Rubio said. They are in serious trouble, there is no doubt about that, and we will have more news on this very soon, he added.
The Catholic Church has acted for decades as a mediator and channel for dialogue between Cuba and the United States and played a key role in the thaw in diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2015, during Barack Obama’s second term.
