Cuban humanitarian groups posted video on Thursday, May 14 of a political prisoner being released amid pressure from the United States and high stakes diplomatic negotiations.
Video circulated online of Sissi Abascal Zamora hugging loved ones outside the La Bellotex women's prison.
The release comes a day after USA TODAY's exclusive report about two other Cuban political prisoners who were given the ultimatum of exile or jail after a secret meeting between U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana. The two said they chose exile but remain behind bars.
The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights released the footage of the woman leaving after her incarceration of nearly five years. She was sentenced to six years in prison for participating in the July 11, 2021 protests in Matanzas. She was the youngest of the "Ladies in White" prisoners and famously carried a sheet scrawled with, "Patria y Vida" or (homeland and life) on it.
The outlet CiberCuba reported the release was facilitated by prominent Miami developer Santiago Álvarez who heads the Judicial Rescue Foundation on the condition she leave the country.
