US, Cuba Relations 2015: Cuba Releases All 53 Prisoners Requested by US, Prisoner Names Coming to Congress
Cuba has released all 53 prisoners requested by the U.S. and often referred to as political prisoners.
Senior U.S. officials have told reporters that the final release of the 53 prisoners is a positive moment toward the normalizing of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S., which was announced on Dec. 17, 2014. A U.S. official said some of the prisoners were originally jailed for promoting political and social reforms in Cuba; however, the names of the prisoners has been a secret.
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.
With the notification from Cuba about the release of the final prisoners, the names are expected to be released to Congress. A senior U.S. official said the congressional lawmakers are expected to make the names of the 53 prisoners public.
The 53 prisoners have reportedly been released in a timely manner on behalf of Cuba. The U.S. State Department never revealed a definitive time frame on when all 53 prisoners would be released.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki previously stated, "They (Cuba) have committed to releasing the 53, we believe they will, and we're encouraging them to do that rapidly."
As of Monday morning, the State Department has not issued a statement on the release of all 53 prisoners.
According to Reuters, the U.S. will continue to press on Cuba to release more prisoners, particularly individuals categorized as political prisoners.
"The fact of the matter is there are other individuals whose cases we have raised in the past," a U.S. official said. "We have every expectation of going forward in the future. We're going to be wanting to raise the cases of different individuals who may be detained in Cuba for exercising their universal rights."
The Cuban government has said it has no political prisoners.
Must Read: Travel Restrictions Still In Play in Cuba for Most Americans, Travel-Ban Exemptions Expanded
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
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