He The Cuban government made public this Monday the complete list of the 2,010 pardoned prisoners last April in one of the largest releases carried out on the island in recent years.
The publication, which appeared in the Official Gazette of the Republic, includes names, judicial cases and courts of the people who benefited from the pardon signed by President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
But the measure has immediately reopened the debate about political prisoners in Cuba.
And especially about how many of them have actually been included in the release.
Only one political prisoner identified for now
The great controversy has come from the NGO Prisoners Defenders, based in Madrid. The organization assures that, after reviewing the official list, has only been able to confirm so far the presence of a political prisoner among the more than 2,000 people pardoned.
The data has generated an enormous contrast with the official story of the Cuban Government, which presented the measure as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture of solidarity” also linked to the religious celebrations of Easter week.
What the Cuban Government says
The presidential decree, signed by Díaz-Canel, explains that pardons are granted taking into account the characteristics of the acts committed, the conduct and the time already served of the sentence.
The Cuban Executive also detailed that among the beneficiaries There were young people, women, also over 60 years old, foreigners and Cubans residing outside the island.
At the same time, he made it clear that those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, sexual assault, manslaughter, drug trafficking or violent robberies were excluded.
The political background of the pardon
Although Havana insists on the humanitarian nature of the measure, the releases come in a particularly delicate political context.
The first releases coincided precisely with the beginning of contacts between Cuban representatives and the US Administration.
And that is where human rights organizations put their focus.
Why Prisoners Defenders He had previously reported that in another recent release – that of 51 prisoners announced in March – only 27 were considered political prisoners.
Many of them were imprisoned for participating in the historic anti-government protests of July 11, 2021.
Those mobilizations, known as 11Jmarked the largest social outbreak experienced in Cuba in decades and ended with hundreds of detainees and very harsh sentences for crimes such as sedition, contempt or public disorder.
The fifth major pardon since 2011
The Cuban Government emphasizes that this is already the fifth major measure of this type since 2011.
According to official figures, More than 11,000 people have benefited from pardons during that period.
Havana He also wanted to link part of these decisions to the relationship with the Vatican and the religious context of the island.
In fact, the release announced in March was explicitly presented as a gesture within the framework of the “close and fluid relations” between Cuba and the Holy See.
The big question remains the same
Beyond the numbers, The debate once again revolves around an issue that has been persecuting the Cuban regime for years: What exactly does Cuba consider a political prisoner?
While the Government talks about common criminals or people convicted of disturbing public order, international organizations and human rights NGOs maintain that many of those imprisoned after 9/11 were convicted simply for protesting against the system.
And now, after the complete list of those pardoned in 2010 has been published, the feeling of many organizations is that the humanitarian gesture announced by Havana has barely touched the core of that discussion.
