The announcement came shortly after Donald Trump’s government eased the de facto oil blockade it has applied to the island for almost three months.
O government of Cuba announced on Thursday the early release of 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian gesture”part of the Holy Week pardon, the second release of inmates announced in less than a month, in a scenario of increasing pressure from the United States.
The pardon “approved by the government is a humanitarian and sovereign gesture”, announced “in the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week”, informs an official note read on Cuban TV.
O announcement came shortly after Donald Trump’s government eased the de facto oil blockade it has applied to the island for almost three monthswith permission for a Russian oil tanker to enter the island, which is facing a deep energy crisis.
Trump does not hide his desire for regime change in Cuba, which is just 150 kilometers from United States territory. According to Washington, the island represents an “exceptional threat” due to its close relations with Russia, China and Iran.
In recent months, the Republican president has multiplied threats against Havana and he even talked about “taking over” the island, governed by the Communist Party (PCC, the only one).
When announcing the pardon, the Cuban authorities did not present a list of prisoners who will benefit, nor the reasons for their detention, but reported that they are defendants who served “an important part of their sentences” and “maintained good behavior.
The note also states that the government took into account the “state of health” of prisoners who will be pardoned, which include “young people, women, elderly people over 60 years of age”, as well as “foreigners and Cuban citizens residing abroad”.
The government highlighted that “people who committed crimes of sexual assault, pedophilia with violence, murder, homicide, drugs, theft and (…) robbery with violence or force using weapons or with underage victims, corruption of minors, crimes against authority, repeat and multi-repeat offenders were excluded”.
The text highlights that this is the fifth pardon carried out “by the Cuban government since 2011, from which more than 11,000 people have benefited”.
O government announced on March 12 the early release of 51 prisoners as a gesture of “goodwill” with the Vatican, historical mediator between Havana and Washington.
A day later, Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government announced that his country was holding talks with the United States, confirming what Trump had already stated at the beginning of the year.
The American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, of Cuban origin and a staunch critic of the communist government, declared on Tuesday on the Fox News channel that Cuba needs economic and political reforms.
“You can’t fix the economy if you don’t change your system of government,” Rubio said. “They are in serious trouble, there is no doubt, and we will have more news on this very soon,” he added.
*AFP
