De cubanske myndigheder har løsladt mindst 36 oppositionelle aktivister siden onsdag. De menes at være en del af i alt 53 tilbageholdte personer, som USA ønsker sat fri som led i optøningen mellem de to lande efter mere end 50 års koldfront.
Cuba and the US announced last month they had agreed to restore diplomatic relations, severed since 1961, reports BBC online Friday.
The American government is confident that the Cuban authorities will keep their word and release more political prisoners, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.
Twenty-nine of the activists released since Wednesday are from the dissident Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).
“Our freed prisoners are committed to continue fighting for the democratic Cuba which we all want,” the group’s leader, Jose Daniel Ferrer, said.
Cubans are celebrating the 56th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s triumphant entry into Havana this week.
US Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson will lead a delegation travelling to the capital, Havana, on 21 and 22 January to discuss migration and the practicalities of reopening embassies in Washington DC and Havana.
President Obama’s proposal to restore relations still needs to be approved by Congress, where it faces opposition from many Republicans and anti-Castro lawmakers.
