La Jornada – The United States calls on Cuba to release more than 600 political prisoners

On Saturday, the United States called on the Cuban government to release “more than 600 political prisoners” who are spending the New Year behind bars, in a tweet from the head of US diplomacy for the Americas, Brian Nichols.

“As the New Year approaches, more than 600 political prisoners will be spending their day behind bars in #Cuba, imprisoned for their aspiration for greater freedom and respect for #DDHH,” Brian Nichols wrote on Twitter.

The island was shaken on July 11, with historic demonstrations that resulted in the killing of one person, the injury of dozens, and the arrest of 1,320 people, of whom 698 are still in prison, according to the latest accounts of the human rights organization “Copalex”.

“We call on the Cuban government to release those convicted of peaceful protest,” Nichols adds, a few days after his conviction that more than 90 protesters linked to the July 11 protests had been tried, some with requests of up to 25 years in prison.

Cuba, where the opposition is banned, accuses the United States of inciting and financing the protests, while US President Joe Biden has described the island as a “failed state that oppresses its own citizens.”