Inmates walk free from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026. YAMIL LAGE / AFP
Cuban authorities began to free prisoners on Friday, April 3, after announcing it would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second release in less than a month as it faces heightened pressure from the United States. More than 20 inmates came out of La Lima penitentiary in east Havana, holding their release papers, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning, AFP journalists said.
The Cuban government announced late Thursday that it would pardon 2,010 prisoners as a "humanitarian and sovereign gesture" to mark Holy Week. It did not link it to US talks, but the move came days after President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude to the fuel-starved island.
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