Cuba Says Release of 51 Prisoners Is Vatican‑Linked ‘Goodwill’ Gesture Amid U.S. Pressure
Cuba’s Foreign Ministry announced it will release 51 prisoners in the coming days, calling the move a “gesture of goodwill” linked to its relationship with the Vatican and saying the inmates have served significant portions of their sentences and shown good conduct, while declining to identify them or say whether any are political prisoners. The announcement — hours before President Miguel Díaz‑Canel’s rare press conference and following Vatican‑mediated releases like dissident José Daniel Ferrer in early 2025 — comes amid U.S. pressure; rights group Prisoners Defenders estimates about 1,214 political prisoners remain, and Havana says it has granted 9,905 pardons since 2010 and freed roughly 10,000 people in the past three years.
📌 Key Facts
- Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it will release 51 prisoners in the coming days, calling the move a gesture of goodwill linked to the island’s close relationship with the Vatican.
- The government said all 51 prisoners have served a significant portion of their sentences and maintained good conduct, but declined to identify them or specify whether any are political prisoners.
- The announcement came just hours before President Miguel Díaz-Canel was scheduled to hold a rare press conference to address national and international issues.
- As context, Havana says it has granted 9,905 pardons since 2010 and released about 10,000 people from prison in the past three years.
- Previous Vatican-mediated talks led to the early-2025 release of prominent dissident José Daniel Ferrer, who now lives in the United States; the rights group Prisoners Defenders estimates 1,214 political prisoners remained in Cuba as of February 2026.
📊 Relevant Data
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 allows Cuban natives or citizens who have been admitted or paroled into the United States and have been physically present for at least one year to apply for a Green Card, providing a unique immigration pathway that has facilitated large-scale Cuban migration to the US.
Discrimination continued against women, Afro-descendants, and LGBTI people in Cuba, with detainees experiencing harassment and ill-treatment.
Human rights in Cuba Amnesty International — Amnesty International
Between 2019 and 2023, around 500,000 Cuban migrants were released into the US with I-220A documents, which do not provide a direct path to legal residency, contributing to ongoing legal uncertainties for recent arrivals.
The future of many Cubans in the US depends on a long legal saga — El Pais
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally announced it will release 51 prisoners in the coming days, calling it a gesture of goodwill linked to the island’s close relationship with the Vatican.
- The government said all 51 prisoners have served a significant portion of their sentences and maintained good conduct, but declined to identify them or specify whether any are political prisoners.
- Havana disclosed that it has granted 9,905 pardons since 2010 and released another 10,000 people from prison in the past three years.
- The article reiterates that prominent dissident José Daniel Ferrer was freed in early 2025 as part of Vatican-mediated talks and now lives in the United States, and notes that Prisoners Defenders estimates 1,214 political prisoners remain in Cuba as of February 2026.
- The announcement comes just hours before President Miguel Díaz-Canel is scheduled to hold a rare press conference "to address national and international issues."