Cuban human rights activists have issued an urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Cuba, amid a regional context of recent release announcements in Venezuela and Nicaragua. The statement, backed by over 200 signatures, denounces the partial and incomplete releases announced by the Cuban state between January and March 2025.
On January 12, 2026, Cuban human rights activists released a statement demanding the immediate release of all individuals imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba. This call comes amid a regional backdrop of recent prisoner release announcements in Venezuela and Nicaragua, underscoring contrasts in handling political detainees.
The document is led by former Cuban political prisoners, many of whom served over ten or twenty years in jail, followed by relatives of those still detained for political reasons. It is supported by Cuban activists on the island and in exile, along with sympathetic foreign citizens. Bearing more than 200 signatures, the text condemns the release processes announced by the Cuban state from January to March 2025 as incomplete and manipulative, benefiting only a fraction of those promised freedom.
The signatories highlight the repeated use of political prisoners as bargaining chips in international pressure dynamics. They call on democratic governments, multilateral organizations, diplomatic bodies, media outlets, and international actors—including the Vatican—to advance concrete and sustained actions under international law to uphold human rights and democracy in Cuba.
They stress that the release of Cuban political prisoners must move beyond rhetorical promises or demagogic gestures to become an urgent demand binding the international community and Cuban and global civil society alike. The full statement and list of signatories are available in an online document.