Cuba announced on April 3, 2026 that it will pardon 2,010 prisoners during Holy Week, marking the second major release in less than a month and one of the largest such pardons in nearly a decade. The releases come as Cuba faces a severe energy crisis with island-wide blackouts, suspended flights, and halted public transportation caused by a Trump administration oil blockade that has severed Venezuela-Cuba oil trade since January 2026. While Cuba frames the pardons as a humanitarian gesture and denies holding political prisoners, the Trump administration is scrutinizing the releases for evidence of freed political dissidents, with monitoring groups estimating 1,214 political prisoners remain detained as of February 2026. The pardons exclude those convicted of serious crimes like murder and drug offenses, while Russia has sent oil tankers to Cuba with tacit US approval.
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