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US: Cuba frees dissidents

January 6, 2015

The US State Department has said that Cuba has freed a number of political prisoners in an apparent move to consolidate improved relations with Washington. The countries recently thawed long-frozen ties.

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Barack Obama and Raul Castro
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo

"They have released some of the prisoners. We would like to see this completed in the near future," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told the media on Tuesday.

Psaki said she could not provide a specific number of the released prisoners, but they are some of the 53 people on a US list of political prisoners.

Their release was agreed by Havana and Washington last month after President Barack Obama announced re-establishment of diplomatic ties with the communist nation, which had been cut off in 1961 during the Cold War.

Under the agreement, the US presented a "carefully put together" list of political detainees which it wants to see freed by Havana, Psaki said.

US officials say they are also assessing the prospects of removing Cuba from the list of states that sponsor terrorism.

Obama also wants to lift the 54-year-old trade embargo on the South American country, which he described as "self-defeating." The president requires congressional approval for that.

Top diplomats from both countries are due to meet later this month. "We hope to have that locked down in the coming days," Psaki told reporters.

shs/sgb (Reuters, AFP)