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Les autorités cubaines, suivant la promesse faite à Washington dans le cadre de la normalisation des relations entre Cuba et les États-Unis, ont remis en liberté 53 détenus emprisonnés pour des raisons politiques, indique un haut responsable américain.
Ces libérations qui se sont étalées sur plusieurs jours se sont achevées avec la sortie de prison ce week-end des derniers opposants encore incarcérés, a ajouté ce responsable.
La Maison-Blanche va communiquer les noms des 53 prisonniers aux élus du Congrès et ces derniers devraient ensuite les rendre publics.
Un important secret a entouré ces libérations et entretenu certains soupçons sur les intentions réelles du gouvernement conduit par le président Raul Castro.
Des voix se sont élevées à Washington pour appeler l'administration Obama à faire davantage pression sur le régime castriste, accusé de ne pas respecter suffisamment les droits de l'homme, avant d'engager une normalisation des relations et un assouplissement des sanctions économiques contre l'île.
Selon un responsable, Washington pourrait effectivement insister auprès de La Havane pour obtenir la libération d'autres détenus que les États-Unis considèrent également comme des prisonniers politiques.
Le 17 décembre, Barack Obama et Raul Castro ont annoncé lors de déclarations simultanées qu'ils entendaient engager leurs pays respectifs sur le chemin d'un rapprochement après plus d'un demi-siècle d'hostilités.
C'est le gouvernement cubain qui a informé les autorités américaines au cours du week-end que les dernières personnes figurant sur la liste des détenus politiques avaient été
libérées. L'antenne, qui représente les intérêts américains à La Havane et gère les questions consulaires, a confirmé ensuite l'information.
INOLTRE SU HUFFPOST
Des photos de Cuba
Cuba Dearth of Births(01 of73)
In this Oct. 22, 2014 photo, a pregnant woman holds her belly while she talks on a public phone at a special maternity unit for high-risk pregnancies in Havana, Cuba. The country\'s low birth rate problem is a result of some of the most notable successes of its 55-year-old socialist revolution: more working women with professional jobs and universal access to medical care, which includes contraception and free, legal abortion. Itâs also a product of its failures: a lackluster economy, persistently high levels of emigration by young people and an island-wide housing shortage. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Dual Currency(02 of73)
In this Aug. 30, 2013 photo, a food vendor spreads out convertible pesos, known as CUCs, the two bills on the right, and regular Cuban pesos at her stand in a vegetable market in Havana, Cuba. Cuba is the only country in the world that mints two national currencies, a bizarre system that even President Raul Castro acknowledges is hamstringing the island\'s socialist economy and must be scrapped.(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Mariel Makeover(03 of73)
In this Nov. 6, 2013 photo, a man drives his horse drawn carriage past a port under construction in Mariel Bay in Mariel, Cuba. For the residents of Mariel, the new port means new jobs, a window into the global economy and perhaps a few more cars on the streets. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CUBA-ECONOMY-PRIVATE BUSINESS(04 of73)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Carlos Batista\nA woman lookss at compact discs on sale at a private business in Havana, on September 25, 2014. Cuba has begun gradually opening its economy since former President Fidel Castro, the 88-year-old father of the island\'s communist revolution, ceded power to his younger brother Raul in 2006. AFP PHOTO/Yamil LAGE (Photo credit should read YAMIL LAGE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YAMIL LAGE via Getty Images)
CUBA-IMPORTS-RESTRICTIONS(05 of73)
People are seen outside of the arrivals building at the Jose Marti international airport in Havana on August 23, 2014. The Cuban government decreed new restrictions to reduce the amount of foreign products that can be brought into the country by travellers. AFP PHOTO/YAMIL LAGE (Photo credit should read YAMIL LAGE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YAMIL LAGE via Getty Images)
Horse drawn carriage as a regular form of transportation in(06 of73)
SANCTI SPIRITUS, CUBA - 2014/07/25: Horse drawn carriage as a regular form of transportation in Cuba, used as taxi for transporting passengers or commuters in cities and the countryside. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) (credit:Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images)
Senior Cuban citizen with a horse drawn carriage in Trinidad(07 of73)
TRINIDAD, SANCTI SPIRITUS, CUBA - 2014/07/22: Senior Cuban citizen with a horse drawn carriage in Trinidad, he charges for pictures with him or in the carriage. \n\nPrivate small business are now allowed after the Raul Castro economic changes toward a more flexible economy. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) (credit:Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images)
Farmer - Cuba(08 of73)
(credit:Michael Moxter via Getty Images)
Oxen pair pulling plow through tobacco field, Vinales Valley, Western Cuba(09 of73)
(credit:Chlaus Lotscher via Getty Images)
Cohiba cigar factory. Cuba(10 of73)
(credit:Angelo Cavalli via Getty Images)
APTOPIX Cuba Economy(11 of73)
Ruben Font carries a scaffold piece to his home in Havana, Cuba, Monday May 23, 2011. More than 1,000 independent shops selling building materials have opened up around Cuba, official media said Monday, as the government looks to the private sector to fight corruption and the black market, eliminate expensive subsidies and help ease a severe housing crisis. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Economy(12 of73)
A woman waits for a bus in front of the Capitol building in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Oct. 25, 2010. Cuba has made official the economic changes it announced last month, publishing nearly 100 pages of rules and regulations for small businesses in the government Gazette, raising hopes that eagerly anticipated licenses for the newly self-employed could be issued soon. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Senior Cuban citizen using a bicycle in Cuba where(13 of73)
CUBA - 2014/06/28: Senior Cuban citizen using a bicycle in Cuba where transportation is an issue and expensive for most. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) (credit:Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images)
Old American parked in a street. The scarcity in the supply(14 of73)
SANTA CLARA, VILLA CLARA, CUBA - 2014/06/25: Old American parked in a street. The scarcity in the supply of cars have made Cubans to repair and maintain cars from last century. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) (credit:Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images)
APTOPIX Cuba(15 of73)
A man checks the engine of his water cistern truck in Old Havana, Cuba, Friday, June 10, 2011. Cuba made official last month it is legalizing the sale of real estate and cars and expanding the ranks of private cooperatives that could serve as engines for the sputtering economy, among other major changes.(AP Photo/Javier Galeano) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Economic Changes(16 of73)
An unidentified man reads a copy of the document explaining the guidelines and economic changes that were approved at last month\'s Communist Party Congress, in Havana, Cuba, Monday May 9, 2011. Billed by President Raul Castro as a way to fix Cuba\'s economy, some of the changes include reforms that would make it easier for people to buy and sell private property, run small businesses and get credit to finance those operations. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Year Of Change Entrepreneurs(17 of73)
In this photo taken Jan. 18, 2011, a slaughtered pig hangs on the wall before being cooked as chef Jose Salgado works at the Partenon, a private restaurant owned by Javier Acosta, in Havana. After Cuban authorities announced in September 2010 that they were opening the island\'s closed Marxist economy to a limited amount of private enterprise, tens of thousands like Acosta are chasing their entrepreneurial ambitions in Cuba\'s year of economic change, hopeful that a sweeping overhaul of the economy announced last year by President Raul Castro is for real. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Economy(18 of73)
Two men make their way in a classic car in Soroa, Cuba, Tuesday Jan. 4, 2011. The head of the Cuban Workers Confederation says the first layoffs have begun in the communist government\'s program to cut the jobs of 500,000 state workers. The initial layoffs are occurring in the sugar, agriculture, tourism, health and construction sectors. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cuba Economy(19 of73)
People use a horse drawn carriage as public transport as a public bus is seen behind in Bayamo, Cuba, Friday Oct. 22, 2010. The Cuban government laid out details of the taxes that Cubans will face as they go to work for themselves for the first time after announcing last month that it will lay off half a million state workers, nearly 10 percent of the island\'s work force. (AP Photo/Ismael Francisco, Prensa Latina) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CUBA-ECONOMY-WHOLESALE-RETAIL(20 of73)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Rigoberto Diaz \nA fruits and vegetables retailer arrives at a wholesale market in Havana, on August 6, 2013. After 50 years and due to President Raul Castro\'s economic reforms, the wholesale trade has reborn in Cuba. AFP PHOTO/ADALBERTO ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
CUBA-ECONOMY-WHOLESALE-RETAIL(21 of73)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Rigoberto Diaz \nA fruits and vegetables retailer leaves a wholesale market in Havana, on August 6, 2013. After 50 years and due to President Raul Castro\'s economic reforms, the wholesale trade has reborn in Cuba. AFP PHOTO/ADALBERTO ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
50 years after Revolution(22 of73)
A young Cuban woman distributes a limited amount of bread to her fellow citizens according to quotas of the Cuban rationing system, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 29 July 2008. The basic food source for the majority of the Cuban families is the state rationing system. This product distribution, installed in 1962, may cover approximately one third of people\'s life necessities. The quality of the food is very questionable. About 50 years after the national rebellion led by Fidel Castro and adopting the communist ideology shortly after the victory, the Caribbean island of Cuba is the only country in Americas having the socialist political system. Although the Cuban state-controlled economy has never been developed enough to allow Cubans living in social conditions similar to the US or to Europe, mostly middle-age and older Cubans still support the Castro Brothers\' regime and the idea of the Cuban Revolution. Since the 1990s Cuba struggles with chronic economic crisis and mainly young Cubans call for the economic changes. (credit:Jan Sochor via Getty Images)
General Views of Economic Imagery in Cuba(23 of73)
Cars drive down a street in Havana, Cuba, on Friday, June 1, 2012. Cuba\'s longtime leader Fidel Castro started to relinquish control in 2006 to his brother Raul Castro, who has begun easing state control of the economy to allow Cubans to seek self-employment in basic professions and buy and sell property for the first time since the revolution. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
General Views of Economic Imagery in Cuba(24 of73)
Men change the tire on an old General Motors Co. (GM) Chevrolet in Havana, Cuba, on Friday, June 1, 2012. Cuba\'s longtime leader Fidel Castro started to relinquish control in 2006 to his brother Raul Castro, who has begun easing state control of the economy to allow Cubans to seek self-employment in basic professions and buy and sell property for the first time since the revolution. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images\n\n (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A car on sale is seen in a street of Hav(25 of73)
A car on sale is seen in a street of Havana, on November 3, 2011. The Cuban government has approved a law allowing individuals to buy and sell homes for the first time in 50 years, the official newspaper Granma said on 3 November, 2011. The measure is part of a series of economic reforms aimed at reviving the economy of the communist-ruled island and easing a severe housing shortage. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
Cuban Government Introduces Economic Reform(26 of73)
HAVANA - NOVEMBER 10: After 52 years of the Communist Revolution, Cuba\'s leaders attempt to redefine their economic model. Small changes, such as allowing some people to own businesses, are starting to be implemented, as Raul Castro guides the country towards a 21st Century model of the famed revolution. (Photo by The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images) (credit:Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images)
Cubans look for a means of transport, on(27 of73)
Cubans look for a means of transport, on June 9, 2009, in Havana. The international economic crisis is forcing the Cuban government to reduce the supply of food, public transport and electricity in all the country, according to government officials. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
A Cuban schoolgirl sits at the foot of t(28 of73)
A Cuban schoolgirl sits at the foot of the entrance stairways, on April 21, 2009 in Havana. Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, reacting to an Americas summit, urged US President Barack Obama to end a nearly half-a-century-old US economic \'blockade\' of Cuba. The US economic embargo on Cuba has been in place since 1962. Obama last week ordered an easing of the measures, lifting restrictions on travel and financial remittances to the island nation by Cuban-Americans. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:STR via Getty Images)
Sixth Annual Festival Internacional del Cine Pobre(29 of73)
GIBARA, CUBA - APRIL 15: Teenagers stand around during the low-budget movie festival \'Festival Internacional del Cine Pobre\' April 15, 2008 in Gibara, Cuba. The week long festival features films made in underdeveloped countries with a restricted economy. (Photo by Sven Creutzmann/Mambo photo/Getty Images) (credit:Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photo via Getty Images)
Tobacco Growing In Indonesia(30 of73)
JEMBER, INDONESIA - JUNE 18: A woman carries a load of tobacco on her head in preparation for its transportation at a tobacco warehouse on June 18, 2007 in Jember, Indonesia. Despite Indonesia\'s troubled and struggling economy, the country continues to produce quality tobacco for cigar production throughout the world, which it has done so since late 1700. In Indoensia, a majority of tobacco is harvested in Jember, East Java. PT Ledokombo, the largest exporter of tobacco for cigars in Jember, is responsible for 60% of the export in the region and their tobacco is exported to countries including Cuba, France, Algeria and Spain. (Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images) (credit:Kristian Dowling via Getty Images)
Employees at Cuban Cohiba cigar manufact(31 of73)
Employees at Cuban Cohiba cigar manufacturer verify the size of cigars 01 March, 2006 in Havana. More than 1.000 guests from 60 countries, between distributors, specialists and lovers of the Cuban premium cigars attend the VIII International Cigar Festival, dedicated this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its leading brand Cohiba. Cuba exports 150 million premium cigars a year, which makes 40 percent of the world market --80 percent if the US, the biggest consumer of these cigars is not considered, since Cuba remains excluded from the US market because of the economical embargo active since 1962. AFP PHOTO/Adalberto ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
Ana Maria Sanchez, an employee to Cohiba(32 of73)
Ana Maria Sanchez, an employee to Cohiba cigar factory, smokes a cigar in front of a picture of Cuban President Fidel Castro 01 March, 2006 in Havana. More than 1.000 guests from 60 countries, between distributors, specialists and lovers of the Cuban premium cigars attend the VIII International Cigar Festival, dedicated this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its leading brand Cohiba. Cuba exports 150 million premium cigars a year, which makes 40 percent of the world market --80 percent if the US, the biggest consumer of these cigars is not considered, since Cuba remains excluded from the US market because of the economical embargo active since 1962. AFP PHOTO/Adalberto ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
Workers roll cigars at Cuban cigar manuf(33 of73)
Workers roll cigars at Cuban cigar manufacturer Cohiba 01 March, 2006 in Havana.. More than 1.000 guests from 60 countries, between distributors, specialists and lovers of the Cuban premium cigars attend the VIII International Cigar Festival, dedicated this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its leading brand Cohiba. Cuba exports 150 million premium cigars a year, which makes 40 percent of the world market --80 percent if the US, the biggest consumer of these cigars is not considered, since Cuba remains excluded from the US market because of the economical embargo active since 1962. AFP PHOTO/Adalberto ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
Worker Teresita Diaz rolls a cigar at Cu(34 of73)
Worker Teresita Diaz rolls a cigar at Cuban cigar manufacturer Cohiba\'s factory 01 March 2006, in Havana. More than 1.000 guests from 60 countries, between distributors, specialists and lovers of the Cuban premium cigars attend the VIII International Cigar Festival, dedicated this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its leading brand Cohiba. Cuba exports 150 million premium cigars a year, which makes 40 percent of the world market --80 percent if the US, the biggest consumer of these cigars is not considered, since Cuba remains excluded from the US market because of the economical embargo active since 1962. AFP PHOTO/Adalberto ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
Cigar roller Mariela Perdomo smokes a ci(35 of73)
Cigar roller Mariela Perdomo smokes a cigar while she prepares tobacco leaves at Cuban cigar manufacturer Cohiba\'s factory 01 March 2006, in Havana. More than 1.000 guests from 60 countries, between distributors, specialists and lovers of the Cuban premium cigars attend the VIII International Cigar Festival, dedicated this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its leading brand Cohiba. Cuba exports 150 million premium cigars a year, which makes 40 percent of the world market --80 percent if the US, the biggest consumer of these cigars is not considered, since Cuba remains excluded from the US market because of the economical embargo active since 1962. AFP PHOTO/Adalberto ROQUE (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
Cuba's Economy Suffers; Lifting The U.S. Travel Ban Would Increase Revenue(36 of73)
HAVANA, CUBA - MARCH 7: Several earlier model American-made cars wait to be rented March 7, 2003 in Havana, Cuba. Supporters to end the U.S. travel ban to Cuba in the U.S. Congress have said they think they can pass legislation within 2003. Supporters also say an easing of restrictions could generate over a billion dollars in revenue for U.S. businesses within five years. (Photo by Jorge Rey/Getty Images) (credit:Jorge Rey via Getty Images)
Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana.(37 of73)
CUBA - JANUARY 14: Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana. (Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images) (credit:Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana.(38 of73)
CUBA - JANUARY 14: Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana. (Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images) (credit:Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana.(39 of73)
CUBA - JANUARY 14: Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana. (Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images) (credit:Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana.(40 of73)
CUBA - JANUARY 14: Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana. (Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images) (credit:Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana, Old woman with a mommoth cigar in her mouth.(41 of73)
CUBA - JANUARY 14: Cigar production at the company Partagas in the Cuban capital Havana, Old woman with a mommoth cigar in her mouth. (Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images) (credit:Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
Cubans Cope With Daily LIfe(42 of73)
360739 01: (NO USNEWS - NO NEWSWEEK) A bus stops outside the Capitol building November 18, 1999 in Havana, Cuba. The Cuban economy is on the verge of collapsing after the former Soviet Union ended its aid and the US imposed an embargo on Cuba. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Liaison) (credit:Robert Nickelsberg via Getty Images)
Ramon and his wife, Eulalia, sell their latest cat(43 of73)
HAVANA, CUBA: Ramon and his wife, Eulalia, sell their latest catch of fish 23 July 1993, which they caught at the mouth of the Almendares River, considered one of the most polluted in Cuba. The pair had fished for pleasure in the past but because of the increasing economic crisis on the Caribbean island they have switched to a private enterprise to obtain more income, especially in foreign currency. (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
A man sells soap and second-hand clothes 24 August(44 of73)
HAVANA, CUBA: A man sells soap and second-hand clothes 24 August 1993 in a park in Havana. Although illegal private enterprise has been tolerated as part of the Cuban economy. Cuban government reform reportedly is looking to legalize these businesses to minimize the black market. (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
A Cuban farmer gets a few liters of milk from a un(45 of73)
UNSPECIFIED:A Cuban farmer gets a few liters of milk from a underfed cow 22 December to feed his family in the town of Cabezas in the Pinar del Rio province. Because of the Cuban economic crisis, milk is distributed only to those under six years old only, excluding people with illnesses. (COLOR KEY: Grass is green.) (Photo credit should read ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ADALBERTO ROQUE via Getty Images)
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