{"id":563624,"date":"2026-04-04T06:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/563624\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T06:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:44:10","slug":"freed-prisoners-celebrate-in-cuba-as-human-rights-group-demand-the-release-of-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/563624\/","title":{"rendered":"Freed prisoners celebrate in Cuba as human rights group demand the release of protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAVANA (AP) \u2014 Katia Arias buzzed with hope on Friday morning as she gathered at the gates of a prison on the outskirts of Havana, waiting with other families for their loved ones to be freed in one of the biggest prison releases<\/a> by the Cuban government in years.<\/p>\n

When her 20-year-old son Emilio Alejandro Leyva walked out of the doors of the detention facility with dozens of other prisoners, bags and a small release document in hand, she wrapped her arms around her son, who was detained for a robbery, for the first time in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been so difficult, but today God has given me so much joy,\u201d said Arias, 43, breaking down in tears. \u201cToday, I feel so happy. This is how all mothers who will have their children released today should feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outpouring of joy from families comes the day after Cuba\u2019s government said it was going to release 2,010 prisoners in what it said was \u201chumanitarian gestures\u201d ahead of Holy Week<\/a>. But the releases were quickly met with criticisms by human rights groups who said they hadn\u2019t seen evidence that those who were released included any of the 1,214 people they have registered as being imprisoned for political reasons.<\/p>\n

The government denies holding political prisoners. With very little information provided by the government, it wasn\u2019t immediately clear how many people were released on Friday.<\/p>\n

The release comes as the Cuban government navigates extreme pressure and a crippling oil blockade by the Trump administration, which has openly expressed its desire for regime change<\/a> and the release of those arrested for protesting.<\/p>\n

Uncertainty over released prisoners<\/p>\n

On Friday, detainees in the La Lima prison on the rural outskirts of Havana said they were woken up at 6 a.m. and heard their names called out. Hours later they were walking into the arms of loved ones awaiting them in front of blue prison gates.<\/p>\n

The prisoners interviewed Friday by The Associated Press were not serving time for political charges. It\u2019s uncertain how many of those released were protesters \u2014 often charged with public disorder, contempt or terrorism. Many of the more than one thousand people the activist organization Prisoners Defended has registered as detained for political reasons were protesters from the 2021 mass demonstrations on the island<\/a>, which were met with widespread arrests by the government.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member outside La Lima penitentiary after his release in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa)<\/p>\n

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member outside La Lima penitentiary after his release in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa)<\/p>\n

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Sporadic protests have broken out in recent months as the island sinks into a deeper crisis. In one March incident, protesters burned the headquarters of the communist party<\/a> in central Cuba, leading to five arrests.<\/p>\n

The lack of information over releases on Friday fueled frustration among human rights and opposition groups, who said the releases were a good sign, but fell short of real change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government presents it as a humanitarian gesture toward prisoners, not as the release of political prisoners,\u201d said Manuel Cuesta Mor\u00faa, leader of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, the island\u2019s main opposition platform. \u201cBy doing so, it mixes things up to avoid giving the impression that it recognizes political imprisonment in Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group has demanded a government amnesty law and says that people who were previously freed are often placed under house arrest or live under conditions where they can\u2019t speak freely.<\/p>\n

During a previous release of 51 people in March<\/a>, organizations monitoring prisons in Cuba noted that 22 had political motives in their cases.<\/p>\n

The nongovernmental organization Justicia 11J wrote in a statement Friday that no partial release can be considered progress \u201cas long as the criminalization of the exercise of fundamental rights persists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough every release represents immediate relief, especially for families, in a context marked by the severity of conditions in the country\u2019s prisons \u2026 we warn that this gesture does not constitute a change in the repressive policy of the Cuban state,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n

US pressure on Cuba<\/p>\n

The releases come as U.S.-Cuban tensions are running high. The Trump administration has suffocated the island by imposing an oil blockade, pushing the already stricken island to the brink<\/a>, crippling hospitals and increasing the number of islandwide blackouts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member after being released from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa)<\/p>\n

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member after being released from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa)<\/p>\n

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Cubans were offered a brief moment of relief this week when U.S. President Donald Trump said the government allowed a Russian ship carrying a nine to 10 day supply of fuel to the island. It wasn\u2019t clear if the Cuban or Russian governments made any concessions to allow the shipment to go through. A second Russian tanker<\/a> is on the way.<\/p>\n

Cuba periodically frees prisoners at key moments.<\/p>\n

In January 2025, Cuba\u2019s government released 553 prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican, a day after the Biden administration announced its intent to lift the U.S. designation<\/a> of the island nation as a state sponsor of terrorism.<\/p>\n

Cuba\u2019s government said Friday\u2019s release marked the fifth since 2011, and that it has freed more than 11,000 people.<\/p>\n

Despite ongoing uncertainty, scenes of hope emerged outside the La Lima prison on Friday as families wrapped their arms around each other and a father planted a kiss on the head of his child swaddled in pink.<\/p>\n

Dami\u00e1n Fari\u00f1as, 20, who has served the majority of his 2-year prison sentence for a robbery, was greeted by three beaming friends waiting for him on the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is freedom, a pardon, owing nothing to anyone. I\u2019m heading out into the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Pardoned<\/p>\n

Pardoned prisoners sit in a taxi to return home after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa)<\/p>\n

Pardoned prisoners sit in a taxi to return home after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa)<\/p>\n

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___<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists Ram\u00f3n Espinosa and Ariel Fern\u00e1ndez contributed from Havana. Megan Janetsky contributed from Mexico City.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HAVANA (AP) \u2014 Katia Arias buzzed with hope on Friday morning as she gathered at the gates of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,14271,7969,3668,57285,12,249485,793,3075,249484,3140,249483,3,111,2825,3775,24265,21,792,19,22,20,25,24,965],"class_list":{"0":"post-563624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-central-america","10":"tag-christianity","11":"tag-cuba","12":"tag-cuba-government","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-emilio-alejandro-leyva","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-human-rights","17":"tag-katia-arias","18":"tag-latin-america","19":"tag-manuel-cuesta-mora","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-prisons","23":"tag-protests-and-demonstrations","24":"tag-terrorism","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-government","27":"tag-united-states-of-america","28":"tag-unitedstates","29":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","30":"tag-us","31":"tag-usa","32":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}