Cuban Catholic Church tells 5 political prisoners to prepare for release into exile

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Cuba political inmates told to prepare for release

HAVANA — Cuba began making good Thursday on a deal to release its 52 most prominent political prisoners, with five told by the country’s top clergyman that they could be released into exile at any time, and six others transferred to jails closer to their homes.

Under a landmark agreement between the government of President Raul Castro and the Church, brokered by visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, authorities promised to free five political prisoners as soon as possible and force them to head to Spain — then free 47 more in the next two or three months.

Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Archbishop of Havana, called Lester Gonzalez, who had been serving a 20-year sentence in the central city of Santa Clara, to say he should prepare to be released and leave the country. Also getting calls were Jose Luis Garcia, sentenced to 24 years in prison in Las Tunas province, and fellow prisoners of conscience Antonio Villarreal, Luis Milan, and Pablo Pacheco.

It was not clear exactly when they would go free, but Ortega indicated it would be in the coming days.

Meanwhile, two inmates were on the move to Havana from facilities in western and central Cuba, one was heading from the capital to the province of Matanzas, two others were being transferred to the eastern city of Santiago, and one from Santiago to Las Tunas.

Word of the cardinal’s calls and the six transfers came via statements from Ortega’s office Thursday.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauded the deal but said it was too long in coming. She refused to comment on what effect it might have on U.S.-Cuba relations.

“We were encouraged by the apparent agreement,” she told reporters at the State Department, adding later, “We welcome this. We think that’s a positive sign. It’s something that is overdue but nevertheless very welcome.”

As the first wave of inmates prepared to leave prison, relatives of those not included in the initial group waited on pins and needles.

Julia Nunez, whose activist husband Adolfo Fernandez was sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason, sat by the phone in her Havana apartment, clutching a photo of him and waiting for news. Suffering from the flu, she left the house only long enough to buy medicine, then rushed back.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma carried word of the agreement and a bulletin about it was read throughout the day on state television — an unusual step as government media rarely mention the island’s small dissident community.

“Now that there has been such official declarations, and that this even came out in Granma, I’m very optimistic,” Nunez said.

The deal would mean freedom for the final 52 prisoners out of 75 opposition leaders, community activists and journalists jailed in a sweeping March 2003 crackdown on dissent.

Twenty-three members of that group had previously been paroled for health reasons, were released into forced exile or completed their prison sentences. They all deny being anti-government agents.

Cuban authorities say they are “mercenaries” who took money from the U.S. government and anti-Castro groups to destabilize the communist system.

According to Cuba’s leading human rights group, the number of island political prisoners has fallen to 167, the lowest total since Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Wednesday’s deal would cut that number by nearly a third.

It would also be the largest group of political prisoners freed since the government released 299 inmates in an amnesty following Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998. Of those, about 100 were considered held for political reasons.

Returning to Madrid on Thursday, Moratinos said his county was willing to accept all 52 ex-prisoners once they have been released, but so far has formally agreed to take the first five. They will not be obligated to stay in his country.

It remained unclear if those freed later would have to leave the country as well.

Lidia Lima, wife of political prisoner Arnaldo Ramos, who is sentenced to 18 years in prison, said she wouldn’t except life in exile.

“I’m hopeful, but the problem is that neither my husband nor I want to live outside the country and that has me very upset,” she said. “We have always said we wouldn’t leave Cuba.”

Moratinos told Spanish news media the deal could spur the European Union to alter its Common Position on Cuba, which dates from 1996 and calls for advances on human rights and democracy before relations with the island can be normalized.

Improving things with Washington could be much tougher.

President Barack Obama once suggested it could be time for a new beginning with Cuba, but his administration wants to see the island embrace some political or social reforms — and it’s unknown if the agreement on political prisoners is enough.

“It’s clearly positive. It’s positive for the Cubans and positive for any steps the U.S. wants to take,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank that supports U.S. engagement with Cuba.

On June 30, the U.S. House of Representatives Agricultural Committee voted to lift the ban on American travel to Cuba, though the House Foreign Relations Committee may also consider the legislation before it moves to the House floor.

Shifter said the Obama administration could endorse that bill, even though “there’s a long road ahead for it.”

In a joint statement, the three Cuban-American U.S. congressional representatives said Washington’s sanctions have left Cuba’s ailing economy in such dire straights that it had no choice but to agree to release prisoners “in order to achieve diplomatic and economic relief.”

Shifter countered that the deal shows Cuba is more willing to negotiate under Raul Castro then it was when his brother Fidel was in charge.

“We’re going to hear, ‘Cuba has no choice, the economy is falling apart.’ But do we really care why?” he asked. “Isn’t the important fact that they are negotiating?”

Eds: Associated Press Writers Anne-Marie Garcia and Andrea Rodriguez contributed to this report.