Cuba Frees 3 of 53 Political Prisoners

The Cuban government released three detainees on Wednesday, believed to be a part of a U.S.-Cuban deal to free 53 political prisoners, a leading human rights advocate told the Associated Press. The three men were release without any of the judicial procedures typically required in freeing political dissidents, according to Elizardo Sanchez, the head of Cuba's Human Rights and Reconciliation Commission. The government freed 19-year-old Diango Vargas Martin and his twin brother Bianko Vargas Martin, who were both arrested in Dec. 2012. Enrique Figuerola Miranda, who has been held since July 2012, was also freed under similar circumstances, activists said. All three men were members of the Patriotic Union Cuba (UNPACU) dissident group.