Vatican highlights Cuba's decision on release of 51 prisoners

Vatican City, Mar 14.- The Holy See highlighted the importance of the Cuban government's decision to release 51 prisoners, in the spirit of goodwill and the close relations between both parties.

In statements to news media, published on the digital site of the newspaper Vatican News, the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, confirmed that "recent conversations have been held regarding the release."

In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the island, issued the previous day, it was announced that 51 people will be released, a sovereign decision of the Cuban State, framed within its fluid relations with the Vatican.

"Communication has historically been maintained regarding the processes of review and release of persons deprived of liberty," states the text announcing this action, also related to initiatives prior to the Easter celebrations, according to Vatican News.

It cites the release by the Cuban government in January 2025 of 553 individuals sanctioned for various causes, following a process with the participation of the Vatican, in a decision framed among gestures of goodwill during the Catholic Jubilee year.

This recent measure is part of a broader framework of relations between the Cuban government and the Vatican, the report points out, and underscores that "in recent years, the Holy See has frequently played a mediating role, promoting humanitarian initiatives and moments of dialogue between Havana and the international community."

Since 2010, 9,905 prisoners have benefited from pardons in that country, and in the last three years another 10,000 individuals sentenced to deprivation of liberty have been released due to different benefits, sovereign decisions that constitute a habitual practice, characteristic of the humanitarian trajectory of the Cuban Revolution. (Text and photo: PL)