Cuba published the names of 2,010 prisoners granted freedom under a sweeping amnesty, but the list has opened a new controversy instead of closing one: many of the country's most internationally known political prisoners, including artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and rapper Maykel "Osorbo" Castillo Pérez, do not appear to have been freed.
The list was published in Cuba's official gazette under a decree signed by President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The decree grants a "full and definitive pardon" and describes the measure as a "humanitarian and sovereign gesture," according to Reuters. Cuba had announced in April that it would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second major prisoner release announced by the communist-run government this year.
But the names alone do not answer the most politically charged question: how many of those released were jailed for dissent, protest, or opposition activity. The Cuban government does not recognize the category of political prisoner, and the official list does not identify inmates by charge category in a way that allows a clear public count.
That gap has made the amnesty a test of transparency. Human rights groups have warned for weeks that Havana's releases were being carried out with discretion, without clear criteria and without guarantees that those detained for peacefully exercising their rights would be included. Amnesty International said Cuban authorities should release immediately and unconditionally those jailed for political reasons.
The most glaring absences are Otero Alcántara and Castillo Pérez, two leading figures associated with the dissident anthem Patria y Vida, which also includes Yotuel, Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona. Amnesty International has described both men as prisoners of conscience and has demanded their release. Otero Alcántara was sentenced to five years in prison, while Maykel Osorbo was sentenced to nine years after proceedings Amnesty said did not meet fair trial guarantees.
Their continued imprisonment undercuts the Cuban government's attempt to frame the amnesty as a broad humanitarian move. For activists and families of detainees, the publication of the list confirms a more limited reality: some prisoners are being released, but the best-known faces of Cuba's crackdown remain behind bars.
Prisoners Defenders said in May that Cuba held a record 1,260 political prisoners in April, including 23 new cases and 14 minors. The group also reported allegations of torture, sexual assault and death threats in detention.
The timing adds another layer. The amnesty comes as Cuba faces renewed U.S. pressure and ongoing diplomatic friction with Washington. Reuters reported that the April pardon was announced amid continuing negotiations between Cuba and the United States, raising questions over whether the prisoner release was intended as a gesture of goodwill.
Cuba has used mass releases before during moments of international pressure. Earlier prisoner releases have followed talks involving the Vatican and shifts in U.S. policy toward Havana. Cuban officials have presented those measures as sovereign decisions, while rights groups have described them as selective and politically calculated.
That is why the news is not simply that Cuba freed 2,010 prisoners. The sharper story is that Cuba published the list, allowing activists, families and international observers to compare the government's claim with the names missing from it.
For now, the official number is clear: 2,010 prisoners were granted pardons. What remains disputed is how many were political prisoners, how many were ordinary inmates and why prominent dissidents such as Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo remain incarcerated.
