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Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded on Wednesday the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Cuba, after confirming that none of them were included in the pardon of 2,010 inmates announced by the regime on April 2.
The Cuban government presented the measure as a humanitarian and sovereign gesture in honor of Holy Week, but neither HRW nor other civil society organizations, including Prisoners Defenders and Justicia 11J, identified a single prisoner of conscience among those granted clemency.
The regime deliberately excluded from the pardon those convicted of "crimes against authority", a category that under Cuban law includes offenses such as "contempt," "propaganda," and "outrage," which have been used for decades to arbitrarily persecute and prosecute critics, artists, and activists.
According to Justicia 11J and Prisoners Defenders, more than 700 political prisoners remain incarcerated in Cuba. Prisoners Defenders recorded 1,214 at the end of February 2026.
Among the most emblematic cases left unresolved by the pardon is that of the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, sentenced to five years for "insulting national symbols" after posting a video in which he announced his participation in the protests of July 11, 2021.
Otero Alcántara ended a hunger strike this Wednesday that he maintained for eight days, from March 31 to April 8. According to the organization Cubalex, the artist would have already completed his sentence if the time in provisional detention is taken into account, but the Provincial People's Court of Artemisa rejected on March 24 a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf.
Another case highlighted by HRW is that of the artist Leonard Richard González Alfonso, sentenced in March 2026 to seven years in prison for "propaganda against the constitutional order" after painting on a wall in Havana the phrase "How long? They are killing us," in protest against the prolonged power outages.
The organization also reminded that at least seven previously released political prisoners were re-incarcerated for posting critical content on social media or for failing to appear before the authorities, and that former detainees released following negotiations mediated by the Vatican in January 2025 reported beatings, solitary confinement, unsanitary conditions and a lack of access to food and drinking water.
The pardon on April 2 is the largest in a decade in Cuba, exceeding the 3,522 prisoners released in September 2015 during the visit of Pope Francis, but its real significance has been questioned from the very beginning by independent organizations.
HRW was categorical in its conclusion: "Cuba must immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners. Cubans should be able to express themselves freely, without fear. The U.S. embargo and its brutal oil blockade are no excuse for keeping critics in prison."
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