Trump order leaves Cuba prisoner deal in limbo

Karen Vasquez, 44, walked out of jail in Cuba on Sunday, part of a deal brokered by the Vatican under which former US president Joe Biden's administration would loosen sanctions on the communist-run island, while Havana would release more than 500 people from its jails who are considered political prisoners by Washington.

Vasquez was still celebrating on Monday when she heard President Donald Trump had reversed the Biden administration's decision last week to remove Cuba from its terrorism blacklist. Removal from the list appeared aimed as a step in rolling back sanctions.

The Trump executive order, issued among a flurry of orders within hours of his inauguration on Monday, has left the broader deal with Cuba in limbo.

“I'm not interested in politics, but yes, this scares me. Everything is so uncertain,” said Vasquez, who lives in a precarious three-room house in La Guinera, a poor neighbourhood outside Havana.

She was convicted of sedition and sentenced to seven years in prison for her part in unprecedented island-wide protests in July 2021. The US, Europe and human rights watchdogs consider Vasquez and others to be political prisoners, a characterisation rejected by the Cuban government.

“We've been released on 'conditional' liberty,” Vasquez said in an interview with Reuters after the Trump announcement.

“We have no idea what could happen to us.”

Cuba on Tuesday blasted Trump's decision, calling it “a demonstration of the aggressiveness of US imperialism”.

It has not said what measures, if any, it might take in response.

The Cuban government did not reply to a request for comment.

Cuba has so far released about 150 prisoners, about one-quarter of the 553 it had promised to free, according to tallies conducted by human rights groups. Most of those released had been jailed in connection with the July 2021 protests, considered the largest since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

Neither Cuba nor the US, long-standing foes, have acknowledged negotiations, nor has either country detailed the specific terms of any agreement struck.

The prisoner release deal, Cuba said last week, was a “unilateral and sovereign” act that came after discussions with the Vatican.

Havana bishop Eloy Ricardo Dominguez, who oversees the Catholic Church's local relations with prisoners, said Trump's decision should not interfere with the process.

“The release of prisoners in Cuba will continue,” Dominguez said.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm on Tuesday whether Cuba had released any prisoners after the Trump announcement.

The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, a watchdog group, said it was “greatly concerned” by an apparent pause in releases after the announcement.

Three people released from jail in and around Havana after last week's church deal declined to comment on their situation on Tuesday, saying Cuban state security had forbidden them to talk to the press as a condition of their release.

Others spoke more freely.

Katia Beirut, of La Guinera, said she was freed last week after serving three years in jail and work camps. She was convicted of sedition for her role in the 2021 protests.

She said she had been unaware of Trump's decision, but wanted to move on with her life.

“I want to keep my profile low,” she said.

“I want to enjoy my family after all the time I was without them.”

Reuters