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Cuba’s government released more than 2,000 prisoners as the island faces mounting economic pressure linked to U.S. sanctions and worsening fuel shortages.
The Cuban Embassy in Washington said authorities granted pardons to 2,010 inmates under provisions of the country’s constitution, citing factors such as good behavior, time already served and health conditions.
“This humanitarian and sovereign gesture was based on a careful analysis of the nature of the offenses committed by the inmates, their good conduct while in prison, [and] the fact that they had served a significant portion of their sentences,” the embassy said in a statement posted on X.
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Inmates celebrate as they walk free from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026, after Cuba announced it would pardon 2,010 prisoners amid mounting U.S. pressure. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials said those released include young people, women, older adults, as well as foreign nationals and Cuban citizens who live abroad but were imprisoned on the island.
The government said it excluded prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including murder, sexual assault, violent robbery, drug offenses and corruption of minors, as well as repeat offenders.
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The move marks the second prisoner release this year and comes during Holy Week, which Cuban officials described as a customary period for such actions.
The release comes as Cuba grapples with a deepening economic and energy crisis driven in part by a renewed pressure campaign from the Trump administration aimed at cutting off the island’s access to foreign oil. The restrictions have contributed to widespread fuel shortages, blackouts and growing unrest across the country.
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President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba and has pressured nations such as Mexico to halt shipments as part of a broader effort to squeeze the island’s energy supply.
The U.S. also allowed a tanker to deliver fuel to Cuba earlier this week after months of severe shortages, with the White House framing the move as a humanitarian exception rather than a shift in policy.
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A man embraces a loved one after being released from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026, as Cuba began freeing more than 2,000 inmates. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump has also escalated his rhetoric, recently saying “Cuba’s next” while discussing U.S. actions abroad, though he later sought to downplay the remark.
The deepening crisis has also sparked protests and clashes across the island.
Cuba has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, and is now led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded Raúl Castro in 2018.