The Trump administration issued a in Havana: to release high-profile political prisoners within two weeks as a gesture of goodwill, or face the consequences from the U.S. administration.
The request was presented by a high-level delegation from the Department of State in what marked the first time a U.S. government plane landed in Cuba since 2016, as confirmed by a Department of State official to USA TODAY.
Among the names mentioned for a possible release are Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo, dissident artists from the San Isidro Movement who were sentenced in 2022 following the protests on July 11, 2021.
Otero Alcántara is serving a five-year sentence in the Guanajay prison, located in Artemisa, and he went on a hunger strike until April 6. The organization Cubalex claims that his sentence should have expired since March, but the Provincial Court of Artemisa rejected a habeas corpus petition on March 23.
Maykel Osorbo, co-author of the dissident anthem "Patria y Vida" —winner of two Latin Grammys in 2021—, was sentenced to nine years and remains imprisoned in Pinar del Río. Neither of the two was included in the release of 2,010 prisoners that the regime announced on April 3 as a humanitarian gesture for Holy Week, according to human rights organizations.
During the meeting on April 10, U.S. officials warned the Cuban government that the island's economy is in free fall and that the ruling elites have a narrow window to implement reforms before the situation deteriorates irreversibly. The U.S. also proposed bringing high-speed internet service Starlink to Cuba, contingent upon economic reforms, compensation to American citizens and companies for confiscated properties, and the lifting of restrictions on political freedoms.
A senior official from the State Department also held a separate meeting with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former leader Raúl Castro. After this meeting, Rodríguez Castro turned to a Cuban businessman, Roberto Carlos Chamizo González, to personally deliver a letter to the White House, bypassing official channels. Chamizo González was intercepted in Miami, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesperson for the State Department stated that "the Trump administration remains committed to the release of all political prisoners, including Alcántara and Osorbo." This context arises amid reports indicating that the Pentagon was discreetly accelerating plans for a possible military operation against Cuba, and following statements from Trump himself, who, when asked, replied: "It depends on your definition of military action." The president has also promised a new dawn for Cuba, a day awaited for 70 years.
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