Cuba Pardons 2,000 Prisoners

The pardons include inmates with health conditions and those who have shown good behavior, though officials have not specified if political prisoners are among them.

Families gathered outside prisons on Friday for emotional reunions as the first wave of releases began.

The gesture is seen by international observers as an attempt to alleviate domestic tension caused by a severe energy crisis and mounting US diplomatic pressure.

Despite the releases, the White House has shown no indication of easing its hardline policy toward the communist regime in Havana.