Cuba frees 127 prisoners under Biden deal

HAVANA (AFP) — Cuba has freed 127 prisoners including opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer in a landmark deal with departing United States (US) President Joe Biden that has led to emotional reunions across the communist island.

Ferrer, 54, is the most high-profile of the prisoners that Cuba began freeing Wednesday after Biden agreed to remove the country from Washington’s list of terrorism sponsors — part of an 11th-hour bid to cement his legacy before handing power Monday to Donald Trump.

“Thank God we have him home,” Nelva Ortega told Agence France-Presse (AFP) of her husband Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison for the past two decades. His latest stint lasted three-and-a-half years.

Shortly after his release Thursday, Ferrer urged Cubans on a Miami-based radio program to “not be afraid” to stand up to a government he said was “increasingly scared” and “increasingly weak.”

In return for being removed from the US terror list that includes North Korea, Iran and Syria, cash-strapped Cuba promised to release 553 people — many of whom the Biden administration said were “political prisoners.”

Most were arrested for taking part the July 2021 anti-government demonstrations over recurring power outages, food shortages and price hikes.

Maricela Sosa, vice president of the Supreme Court, said “between Wednesday and Thursday 127 (detainees) have been granted early release.”

AFP saw four prisoners emerge from the San Miguel del Padron prison on the outskirts of the capital Havana on Thursday.

Marlon Brando Diaz, who was serving an 18-year sentence for his participation in the 2021 protests, said tearfully that he was thankful for “a new chance in life.”

“It’s a new start,” he said, as he hugged emotional family members.

The deal with Washington paves the way for increased US investment in the Caribbean island, which has been under a trade embargo for over six decades.

In a sign that the thaw may be short-lived, however, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, suggested Biden’s decision could be reversed.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio is vociferously critical of that country’s government and said Trump’s incoming administration was not bound by Biden’s policies.

“There is zero doubt in my mind that they (the Cuban government) meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said at his US Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.