Families fear for Cuban prisoners after Trump reneges on release deal
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US president reinstates Cuba on terror list despite Biden deal to release prisoners jailed over demonstrations. The families of Cuban protesters jailed in anti-government demonstrations are waiting anxiously to see if the government will continue with a planned prisoner release after Donald Trump reneged on a deal made last week by Joe Biden.
Activists from the human rights group Justicia 11J believe around 150 prisoners have been released so far of the 553 agreed with the Catholic church. Less than a week after it was taken off a US list of state sponsors of terror (SSOT), Cuba was returned to sit alongside Syria, North Korea and Iran – with grim implications for tourism and trade. Trump reversed Biden’s decision late on Monday, amid a flurry of executive orders overturning domestic and international policies of the previous administration.
Biden had caught Cuba watchers off-guard last Tuesday when he removed Cuba from the SSOT list and lifted sanctions against companies linked to the Cuban military. The measures were not explicitly linked to a simultaneous announcement by the Cuban government that it had agreed to a request by the Vatican to release the 553 prisoners, but most Cubans assumed a quid pro quo.
The families of prisoners who have yet to be released have been expressing their frustrations online. Greisy Oliva, wife of Nadir Martín Perdomo, who was jailed with his brother Jorge on charges of assault and public disorder, wrote: “My kids are anxiously awaiting that freedom call from their daddy. Salet since she was 11 years old and Samir from only six months. This has hit them hard.”.
