The Cuban government's announcement to grant clemency to over 2,000 prisoners has been met with skepticism by human rights organizations.
In a video published on the social network X, Javier Larrondo, president of the NGO Prisoners Defenders, denounced that the measure comes amid a resurgence of repression on the island.
"While the Cuban regime is imprisoning, it is detaining... last month it detained hundreds of people across Cuba and has imprisoned many of them," stated Larrondo.
According to his explanation, the organization is "counting dozens and dozens of new political prisoners in March," which, in his view, contradicts the official narrative of clemency.
The activist strongly criticized what he considers a public relations strategy by the regime.
“While doing that, they are now pretending to be good, benevolent, as they say, and announcing a release, even a pardon for two thousand ten prisoners,” he pointed out.
One of the most challenged points by Prisoners Defenders is the explicit exclusion of so-called "crimes against authority," a category frequently used to prosecute opponents, protesters, and critical citizens.
“They have explicitly excluded crimes against authority, which are the most common among political prisoners, so we don’t have much hope that there will be too many political prisoners released,” Larrondo warned.
In your opinion, the announcement aims to create a misleading international perception.
"Some are surely involved, playing with ambiguity so that when the announcement comes that such a political prisoner has been released, the headlines will associate two thousand one hundred with the release of a political prisoner. They are playing at that," he stated.
Larrondo also framed this process within a pattern repeated by the Cuban government in recent years.
“The world already knows, because last year's release was a fraud and this year's is as well,” he stated, while denouncing new repressive actions occurring simultaneously.
"They are revoking a lot of prisoners... they just summoned four from San Antonio de los Baños for defending their friend Denis... we'll see what happens," he added.
In this context, the president of Prisoners Defenders warned about what he considers a deliberate attempt at manipulation.
“While all of this is happening in Cuba, they are trying to deceive,” he said, emphasizing that independent organizations will be vigilant.
"The NGOs will be keeping a close watch on everything that happens, and we will make sure to clarify the facts so that this deception does not last even fifteen days," he stated.
Although he acknowledged that any release of political prisoners would be a relief for their families, Larrondo appeared skeptical about the real impact of the measure.
“If they release some political prisoners, even if it's only a few, we have to celebrate with their families, but we don't have much hope that this measure is truly serious; what Cuba needs for there to be a substantial release of political prisoners”, he concluded.
The statement from Prisoners Defenders comes after the Cuban government announced on Thursday the pardon of 2,010 inmates, pursuant to Article 90, Section II of the Constitution.
According to the official newspaper Granma, the decision is based on an analysis of factors such as behavior in prison, the time served of the sentence, and the health condition of the inmates.
Among the beneficiaries are young people, women, seniors over 60 years old, individuals nearing the end of their sentence, as well as foreigners and Cubans residing abroad.
However, those who committed crimes considered serious, as well as repeat offenders, multiple offenders, and, significantly, those sanctioned for "offenses against authority," were excluded.
This last element has been highlighted as particularly problematic, as it is often used against protesters and dissenters in the Cuban context, effectively excluding a significant portion of prisoners for political reasons from the amnesty.
The measure is part of a recurring practice of the regime, which has carried out at least five pardons since 2011, benefiting over 11,000 individuals.
However, in most cases, the releases have primarily consisted of common prisoners, with no transparency regarding the inclusion of political prisoners, whose existence the government continues to deny.
Last March, authorities announced the release of 51 sanctioned individuals following contacts with the Vatican, without detailing identities or clarifying whether they included political prisoners.
Similarly, in January 2025, the release of 553 inmates was reported in the context of negotiations with the United States and the mediation of the Holy See.
For Prisoners Defenders, the pattern is clear: announcements of releases that do not involve structural changes or a genuine opening.
"We'll see what happens," Larrondo concluded, leaving in suspense the real impact of a measure that, for now, raises more questions than expectations.
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