The Cuban president announced the release of 553 prisoners

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Jan. 14 announced the release of 553 prisoners who had been convicted of various crimes.

"In accordance with our usual legislative practice, we have taken the unilateral and sovereign decision to release 553 people convicted of various crimes," he wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter).

He also said that he informed Pope Francis of the decision as part of a close and active relationship with the Vatican.

Earlier, on December 12, 2024, it became known that US President Joe Biden commuted sentences for 1.5 thousand citizens and pardoned 39 prisoners, which is the largest number in a day among heads of state. He granted pardons to citizens on whom imprisonment had a positive impact, and released those people who expressed a desire to make society safer.