Late Thursday, Cuba announced it had pardoned and released 2,010 prisoners, a broad measure the government described as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture.” The Cuban Embassy in the United States posted the announcement on X, saying those freed included young people, women, those over 60, Cuban citizens living abroad and some foreign nationals. People convicted of violent crimes were excluded from the pardon. It is not clear whether political prisoners were among those released; the advocacy group Prisoners Defenders estimates there are 1,211 political prisoners in Cuba.
This is the second and larger round of pardons this year; last month the government freed 51 detainees. Officials framed the move against the backdrop of an energy crisis that had worsened after the Trump administration pressured countries to curb oil shipments to Cuba, contributing to a months-long slowdown in fuel deliveries.
In recent days U.S. officials allowed a sanctioned, Russian-flagged tanker carrying over 700,000 barrels of oil to dock in Havana, and Russia has said it intends to send a second tanker. The White House said the first delivery was permitted for humanitarian reasons. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. policy toward Cuba remains unchanged and that decisions about future ship access will be made on a case-by-case basis. President Trump was quoted as saying the administration did not object to a single shipload because Cuba “has to survive.”
The prisoner pardons and the decision on tankers come amid heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba. President Trump has called for major changes in Cuban governance and has suggested more forceful options, saying publicly he could do “anything I want” with the island. Administration officials have taken a more assertive posture abroad, including publicized operations involving Venezuela and an aerial campaign against Iran; Trump has said “Cuba’s going to be next,” calling the country “failing.”
Senator and Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio has urged economic and political reforms in Cuba, arguing the island needs new leadership and warning that its economy cannot be fixed without changes to the government. He has criticized Cuban leaders as “incompetent” and hinted at further measures.
Cuban officials acknowledge they have engaged in talks with the United States — former president Raúl Castro has reportedly been involved — but Havana has rejected any suggestion of a U.S. takeover. President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez warned that any external aggressor would meet “an impregnable resistance.”