Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, made a historic acknowledgment in a recent interview: although political prisoners exist on the island, they are not part of the discussions with the United States.
In Cuba, we are not discussing prisoners in our negotiations with the United States. It is an internal matter for Cuba. It is not a bilateral issue with the United States. And the U.S. knows that, he stated during the Meet the Press program on NBC.
The statement represents a shift from the regime's usual practice, which traditionally denied the existence of political prisoners and avoided bringing the issue to public attention.
During the interview, moderator Kristen Welker directly confronted Fernández de Cossío about whether Cuba considered the release of political prisoners as part of a potential agreement. The deputy minister responded with an unusual comparison to the United States.
The diplomat noted that the Cuban counterpart was not "talking about [the] prisoners in the United States, and the U.S. has the largest number of prisoners in the world," and referred to people incarcerated for "various reasons and with strong political positions" in that country.
"In Cuba, we are not discussing prisoners in our negotiation… it is an internal matter," reiterated the senior official in an effort to completely disconnect that issue from the conversations with Washington.
During the historic visit of Barack Obama to Cuba in March 2016, for example, Raúl Castro was confronted in a joint press conference with Obama by a journalist who asked him about political prisoners.
Castro firmly denied his existence and challenged the journalist to present specific names, attempting to divert attention and demonstrating the regime's policy of public denial.
“Give me a list right now of the political prisoners to release them… if there are those political prisoners, before nightfall they will be free,” said Castro, attempting to discredit the question and deny that there were detainees for political reasons.
The contrast with Fernández de Cossío's statement is evident: the existence of the issue is now acknowledged, but it is reaffirmed that it is not part of the bilateral agenda, underscoring that the regime's red line remains intact.
The issue of political prisoners is not new on the agenda of the bilateral relationship. In 2025, there were releases related to conversations mediated by the Vatican, with the implicit approval of the United States, which sought to ease tensions and achieve certain humanitarian commitments.
In that process, more than 500 people were released, of whom at least a hundred were recognized as political prisoners, according to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights.
However, the regime presented these releases as isolated gestures, not as part of a structural negotiation with Washington, reinforcing the idea that the red line on political prisoners remains firm.
In March 2026, the Cuban regime announced the release of 51 inmates, presenting it as a gesture linked to diplomatic contacts with the Vatican.
The measure was officially described as part of "humanitarian actions" and, according to the government, aimed to ease tensions and demonstrate goodwill in the context of relations with the United States.
However, independent organizations and civil society activists questioned the transparency of these releases. Groups like Prisoners Defenders, Justicia 11J, and Cubalex pointed out that not all those released are political prisoners, and many are common inmates or are under restrictive probationary regimes.
According to these complaints, the process was presented as a diplomatic gesture, but it remained selective and opaque, and hundreds of political prisoners continue to be incarcerated under repressive conditions, casting doubt on the true extent of the humanitarian relief announced by the government.
For his part, this Sunday Fernández de Cossío also emphasized that Cuba will not negotiate its political system or internal reforms.
While bilateral issues such as security, the fight against crime, trade, and migration are being discussed, the so-called "internal matters" would remain off the table: “Cuba is a sovereign nation. The structure of government and the political rights of its population are not negotiable with another power,” he stated.
Analysts and sectors of the exile community have pointed out that, although the U.S. and international organizations view political prisoners as a central issue for pressure, Cuba continues to treat it as an internal matter, even in the face of economic and political pressure.
The statement from the deputy minister, in this regard, marks a media turning point, as for the first time the existence of political prisoners is publicly acknowledged and it is clarified that they are not part of the current dialogue.
This gesture also reflects the regime's strategy of surviving external pressure without yielding its political core. While maintaining a dialogue with Washington to protect bilateral interests, it stands firm on its red line regarding political prisoners, a matter that until now had been avoided or publicly denied.
Ultimately, Fernández de Cossío's statements combined recognition and rejection: he acknowledged the existence of political prisoners but confirmed that there is no intention for them to be part of the negotiations.
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