Cuba’s government announced late on Thursday that it would release 51 inmates from the island’s prisons, an unexpected development.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the forthcoming releases, expected in the coming days, are a result of a spirit of goodwill and close relations with the Vatican.
The prisoner release follows two weeks after Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with Pope Leo in the Vatican and at a time when Cuba faces a severe economic crisis, one aggravated by US President Donald Trump’s imposition of a virtual oil blockade on the Caribbean island.
“In the spirit of goodwill and the close and fluid relations between the Cuban state and the Vatican, with which communication has historically been maintained regarding the review and release of prisoners, the Cuban government has decided to release 51 people sentenced to imprisonment in the coming days,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“All have served a significant portion of their sentences and have maintained good conduct in prison,” it said.
The government did not specify who would be released, only confirming that “all have served a significant part of their sentence and have maintained good conduct in prison.”
This announcement was made just hours before Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is scheduled to hold a rare meeting with the press on Friday morning to discuss “national and international issues.”
The government has a record of such actions, having granted pardons to 9,905 inmates since 2010.
Additionally, in the past three years, another 10,000 people sentenced to imprisonment have been released.
Cuba previously released prominent dissident José Daniel Ferrer as part of a government decision to gradually free more than 500 prisoners following earlier talks with the Vatican.
Ferrer left Cuba last October and is now in the United States.
He was one of several prisoners released in early 2025 as part of talks with the Vatican.
The releases began a day after President Joe Biden’s administration announced his intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
It wasn’t immediately known if any of the people the government plans to release are political prisoners.
