In an unexpected move, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry announced Thursday night that the Cuban government would release 51 prisoners in the coming days “in the spirit of good faith.”
According to the Cuban government, the decision, described as “sovereign” in a statement, was made as a result of “close relations” with the Vatican, suggesting the Vatican played a key role in the release of prisoners.
The prisoner release comes amid severe tensions between Cuba and the United States as the United States continues its campaign of economic pressure to force regime change in Cuba.
The Cuban government denies that its decision was influenced by U.S. economic pressure, but the release could be a sign of a willingness to make concessions to ease tensions with the United States, which frequently criticizes the arbitrary detention of political prisoners.
The Cuban government did not specify who it would release, but said the selected prisoners had all served a significant portion of their sentences and had maintained good behavior in prison.
This is not the first time Havana has released prisoners to ease relations with Washington. In early 2025, the Cuban government granted early release of more than 500 prisoners under the terms of a deal between the administration of Miguel Díaz-Canel and Joe Biden.
In return, Biden removed Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism just days before his term ended. However, Cuba was redesignated as a state sponsor of terrorism shortly after Donald Trump came to power. The prisoners were released regardless.
The 2025 deal was also brokered by the Vatican, underscoring the papal state’s traditional importance as a mediator between the two countries.
The Vatican appears to have re-adopted this interlocutor role, as Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin said earlier this week that the “necessary steps” had been taken to ensure a “negotiated solution” between the two adversaries.
Amid the current tensions, Pope Leo
The U.S. diplomat in Cuba, Commander Mike Hammer, also met with Vatican representatives to discuss the “deteriorating situation in Cuba.”
Read more: Cuba and the United States have reportedly been “talking” with the Pope calling for a de-escalation of tensions.
Professor Massimo Faggioli, professor of ecclesiology at Trinity College Dublin and expert on the Vatican, said: “Historically, (the Vatican’s role) was important because the Catholic Church had a greater presence in Cuba than in most other communist countries and certainly more than in (Soviet) Russia,” he said. Latin America Report
Although the “history of coexistence” has been “difficult” (religious worship was once banned on the island and the Cuban Communist Party seized church property after coming to power), the church’s continued presence in Cuba has meant that “every pope since John Paul II has had some kind of relationship with the Cuban leadership, much to the consternation of Americans.”
According to the professor, this relationship has become more important now that the Vatican recognizes a “clearer threat” from the United States to “do something about Cuba” and its communist regime following operations in Venezuela and Iran.
The Vatican’s “traditional approach to international relations based on multilateralism, the role of international organizations and the rule of law” means the Holy See is “at odds” with current US policy of potentially destabilizing unilateral regime change operations. Faggioli argued that this led him to work to prevent tensions between the United States and Cuba from escalating into a military conflict.
The Vatican has historically been successful in mediating difficult negotiations between adversaries, the church scholar noted. That’s because Vatican representatives tend not to be career-oriented, as they engage in diplomacy as a ‘service to the Church’ derived from their faith.
Moreover, the Vatican’s experience mediating disputes around the world “There is a treasure trove of knowledge, relationships and connections within the Papal Diplomatic Corps, which operates “in every corner of the world.”
Faggioli suggested that some senior figures in the U.S. administration, such as Marco Rubio, a Catholic, and Trump himself may not be the most amenable to the Vatican’s proposals, but he also acknowledged that “there are more cautious voices in the State Department than … (those) in Donald Trump’s cabinet” and may represent “a different view when talking to the Vatican.”
With Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel officially confirming the ongoing Cuban-American negotiations today, perhaps the Vatican will once again be asked to act as a mediator between the two enemies.
Featured image: Current Pope Leo XIV. He is the first American-born pope and has called for an easing of tensions between his country of birth and Cuba.
Image source: Edgar Beltran via Wikimedia Commons
patent: Creative Commons License
