US: Cuba completes release of 53 political prisoners

[bemildred]

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Cuba has completed the release of 53 political prisoners that was part of last month's historic deal between the United States and Cuba, the U.S. said Monday

The prisoners had been on a list of opposition figures whose release was sought as part of the U.S. agreement last month with the Cuban government. They had been cited by various human rights organizations as being imprisoned by the Cuban government for exercising internationally protected freedoms or for their promotion of political and social reforms in Cuba.

The U.S. has verified the release, according to an official traveling with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Islamabad. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the issue on the record.

Last month, Cuba and the U.S. agreed to work to restore normal diplomatic relations as part of a deal in which Cuba freed an imprisoned U.S. aid worker along with an imprisoned spy working for the U.S. and the imprisoned dissidents. The U.S. released several Cuba intelligence agents. The deal came after 50 years of hostility between the two countries.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_UNITED_STATES_CUBA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-12-07-54-15

[Judi Lynn]

1. Cuba releases 53 political prisoners, Rubio keeps whining

Mon Jan 12, 2015 at 06:55 AM PST.

Cuba releases 53 political prisoners, Rubio keeps whining

by
Laura ClawsonFollow

Huh. Look at diplomacy working in the U.S.-Cuba relationship, despite all the Republican whining that President Obama would even give it a chance:

Cuba has completed the release of 53 political prisoners that was part of last month's historic deal between the United States and Cuba, the Obama administration said Monday. The move clears a major hurdle for the normalization of ties between the two countries after more than five decades of estrangement.

The prisoners had been on a list of opposition figures whose release was sought as part of the U.S. agreement last month with the Cuban government. They had been cited by various human rights organizations as being imprisoned by the Cuban government for exercising internationally protected freedoms or for their promotion of political and social reforms in Cuba.

This will naturally cause some difficulties for Republicans who want to stick to a 50-year failed policy. For instance, a week ago, Sen. Marco Rubio was saying that U.S. willingness to talk to Cuba should hinge on the release of these 53 prisoners. Monday morning, as the news emerged that the prisoners had been released, Rubio was all "whatever" about it:

"Certainly, for those 53 prisoners, it's a great deal. We don't know who they are," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in an appearance Monday on "CBS This Morning."

More:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/12/1357195/-Cuba-releases-53-political-prisoners-Rubio-keeps-whining?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

[bemildred]

2. Well, that IS his primary job skill, isn't it? nt

[Mika]

3. How could we not know who they are? It was the US's list.

The US simply sent Cuba their payroll stubs as the list.