Nearly two weeks after Cuba and the U.S. announced a renewal of their diplomatic relations, the U.S. State Department condemned Cuba of repressing and detaining activists.

The State Department released a statement regarding Cuban authorities detaining "peaceful civil society members and activists," at times made to quiet critics of the country's government and intimidate citizens.

"We are deeply concerned about the latest reports of detentions and arrests by Cuban authorities of peaceful civil society members and activists, including Luis Quintana Rodriguez, Antonio Rodiles, Danilo Maldonado, Reinaldo Escobar, Marcelino Abreu Bonora and Eliecer Avila," the State Department's Bureau of Public Affairs Director Jeff Rathke stated.

"We strongly condemn the Cuban government's continued harassment and repeated use of arbitrary detention, at times with violence, to silence critics, disrupt peaceful assembly and freedom expression, and intimidate citizens," Rathke's statement added.

According to Reuters, the arrests were the "most significant crackdown" towards the Cuban government's opponents since the U.S. and Cuba announced plans to renew diplomatic ties on Dec. 17. Among the detainees, as the State Department acknowledged, is Reinaldo Escobar, editor-in-chief of a dissident news and opinion website and husband of activist and blogger Yoani Sanchez. According to Sanchez, Escobar and another dissident leader were detained outside her home in Havana while she's in "virtual house arrest."

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"Freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly are internationally recognized human rights, and the Cuban government's lack of respect for these rights, as demonstrated by today's detentions, is inconsistent with Hemispheric norms and commitments," the U.S. State Department said. "We urge the Government of Cuba to end its practice of repressing these and other internationally protected freedoms and to respect the universal human rights of Cuban citizens."

Despite the renewed diplomatic relations, U.S. officials including President Barack Obama have said human rights will remain an issue for Cuba.

"We have always said we would continue to speak out about human rights, and as part of the process of normalization of diplomatic relations, the United States will continue to press the Cuban government to uphold its international obligations and to respect the rights of Cubans to peacefully assemble and express their ideas and opinions, just like their fellow members of civil society throughout the Americas are allowed to do,'' the State Department added.

The arrests of the activists come as the Cuban government released 53 prisoners to the U.S. As Latin Post reported, a senior Obama administration official said, "These (53 prisoners) are individuals that we believe are political prisoners, and we welcome very much their release. A number of those individuals have already been released, and we expect to continue to see those releases going forward."

The names of the 53 prisoners were not disclosed, but the senior Obama administration official noted each individual's case were brought to the attention of Cuba.

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