Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today explained his country’s position on the release of more than 500 people punished for various crimes, a measure he considered a unilateral and sovereign decision.

In his account on X, the president said that this is a common practice in the Cuban legal system, which is why, he said, we took the unilateral and sovereign decision to grant freedom to 553 people punished for various crimes.

«As part of the close and fluid relations with the Vatican State, he informed Pope Francis of this decision, in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 declared by His Holiness and which has just begun,» the Cuban president explained.

A note from the Foreign Ministry recalls that in the past there have been such contacts with the Supreme Pontiff and his representatives, to whom the Cuban government informed about review processes and the release of persons.

As a result, the communiqué states, more than 10,000 prisoners were released from 2023 to 2024 under different modalities provided for in Cuban law.

Cuba maintains a respectful, frank and constructive relationship with the Vatican and the Supreme Pontiff, which facilitates decisions such as the one recently taken, within the requirements established by current legislation, the statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasises.