Cuban government to release 51 prisoners following Vatican talks

The Cuban government announced that it will release 51 people from prison because of its “smooth” relations with the Vatican — a move that coincides with the upcoming observance of Holy Week.

“In the spirit of goodwill, and of the close and smooth relations between the Cuban state and the Vatican — with which communication regarding processes for the review and release of persons deprived of liberty has historically been maintained — the government of Cuba has decided to release, in the coming days, 51 individuals sentenced to deprivation of liberty [prison],” the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in a March 12 statement.

The director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, confirmed to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, on March 13 that “conversations regarding the release of prisoners have recently taken place.”

The statement from the Cuban ministry notes that all these individuals “have served a significant portion of their sentences and have maintained good conduct in prison”; however, it does not indicate whether the group includes political prisoners.

The communist regime states that since 2010, it “has granted pardons to 9,905 inmates, while — over the last three years, as part of Cuban practice and pursuant to the provisions of our legislation — another 10,000 individuals sentenced to deprivation of liberty were released based on certain conditions.”

This announcement comes amid renewed tensions between Cuba and the United States, which began in January, and the recent meetings that representatives from both countries have held with Vatican officials.

On Feb. 20, the U.S. chief of mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer, held a meeting at the Vatican with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin stated on March 9 that the Holy See has taken “the necessary steps” regarding the situation in Cuba, “always with a view to a solution to the existing problems through dialogue.”

In January 2025, the Cuban regime also announced the release of 553 prisoners following mediation by Pope Francis and “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025.”

Victoria Cardiel, EWTN News correspondent in Rome, contributed to this report.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.