Cuba begins releasing more than 2,000 prisoners as US pressure mounts

Cuba has begun releasing prisoners after saying it would free 2,010 as a "humanitarian and sovereign gesture" while facing continued pressure from the US.

More than 20 inmates emerged from La Lima prison in eastern Havana, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning, AFP reported.

Those freed will include foreign nationals, young people, women and those aged over 60, a statement from the Cuban embassy in the US said on Thursday.

Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has made clear his desire to change Cuba's Communist leadership and has blocked oil shipments to the island, causing severe fuel shortages and widespread blackouts.

Last week, a Russian-owned tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil became the first to dock in one of Cuba's ports since early January - something Trump said he had "no problem" with.

Cuba holds hundreds of political prisoners behind bars, according to Human Rights Watch, with government critics subject to harassment and criminal prosecution.

Eligibility for the release was based on "a careful analysis" of offences, along with "their good conduct while in prison, the fact that they had served a significant portion of their sentences, and their state of health", the embassy said.

It said the release was taking place "in the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week, which is a customary practice in our criminal justice system".

Among the first to be let go from La Lima was Albis Gainza, a 46-year-old who had served half a six-year sentence for robbery, AFP reported.

Cuban opposition outlet 14ymedio reported that 41 prisoners had been released from the Toledo 2 Forced Labor Prison in south-west Havana, citing the president of the Spanish-based human rights group Prisoner Defenders.

Six common criminals were freed from El Típico prison in the eastern city of Las Tunas, along with "dozens more" of prisoners from nearby forced labour centres, it reported.

It is the second time this year that Cuba has announced a prisoner release. In March, 51 prisoners were set free after talks with the Vatican.

In 2025, Cuba released 553 people in a deal brokered by the Vatican and the US.

Trump's rhetoric concerning Latin America has pivoted focus towards Cuba since the US seized Venezuela's former President, Nicolás Maduro, in a raid on Caracas in January.

Venezuela's interim government has also released political prisoners since - a key US demand - though a prisoner rights group says only a third of those promised had been let go.

Venezuela had been providing Cuba with oil under highly preferential terms, something the US stopped while threatening tariffs on products from nations found to be sending oil to the Caribbean island - exacerbating an existing energy crisis.

Cuba's Communist government, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, has been in talks with the Trump administration to try to find an agreement to end the impasse.

But both sides have publicly set out a number of political and economic red lines that would make finding common ground hard.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that the US could "take" Cuba by force and install a friendlier regime.

Last week, the World Health Organization warned that severe fuel shortages meant that Cuban hospitals were struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services.

The island has also suffered from rolling blackouts that have left millions in darkness and seen rare shows of public dissent.

Russia said on Thursday that it would send a second oil tanker, laden with enough oil to keep Cuba's economy going for a few weeks.