White House happy with pace of prisoner release from Cuba

The White House said Friday it was encouraged by Cuba’s progress releasing political prisoners as part of the deal announced last month to begin normalizing diplomatic relations with Havana.

“We welcome the significant and ongoing releases of political prisoners,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters traveling with the president aboard Air Force One.

Schultz said the release of 36 dissidents over the past two days was “consistent” with promises made by the Castro regime and a “tangible sign” Cuba was keeping its word to release 53 political prisoners.

{mosads}Critics of the administration had seized on the slow release of prisoners to criticize the president, who said last month he was easing longstanding trade and travel restrictions as part of the deal.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote Obama a letter earlier this week urging the president to cancel upcoming talks with Cuba unless all the dissidents were released.

“While I believe that the entirety of your new Cuba policy is overwhelmingly one-sided in the Castro regime’s favor and based on the flawed premise that giving it more legitimacy and money will result in a freer Cuban people, the least your Administration can do now is hold the regime accountable for fully freeing these 53 political prisoners as well as those who have been detained in recent weeks,” Rubio said.

Senior administration officials are slated to travel to Havana later this month for bilateral talks on migration issues, as well as the U.S. effort to normalize relations. Those discussions are expected to include hashing out logistical considerations surrounding the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Cuba.