Cuba begins releasing prisoners under scrutiny of rights groups

Cuba began releasing prisoners from its jails on Friday just hours after its communist-run government announced a sweeping amnesty coinciding with the most intense pressure campaign applied by the U.S. in decades.



More than 2,000 prisoners are slated to be released as part of Cuba's state-run media on Thursday called a "sovereign and humanitarian" gesture, the largest such amnesty in 10 years.



The U.S. said it was closely monitoring whether those it deems to be political prisoners would be among the liberated.



"It is unclear how many, if any, political prisoners will be released," the spokesperson said. "We continue to call for the immediate release of the hundreds of other brave Cuban patriots who remain unjustly detained."