Two tests of Cuba's willingness to improve its "dismal" human rights record will come in 2015, when the government of Raúl Castro has promised to release 53 political prisoners and begin expanding Internet access as part of a deal to re-establish relations with the United States,
The New York Times reports.
American officials will be watching to see that all 53 prisoners are released as promised and allowed unrestricted movement inside the country, or "if the Cuban government undermines the gesture by continuing to detain or harass other political opponents," the Times reports.
The communist regime off the Florida coast has also pledged to let American companies in to help build up Cuba's Internet access.
Although an economic embargo against Cuba remains in place, travel and commercial restrictions are being eased under the deal, which also allows for exports to entrepreneurs and farmers that make up the communist island nation's tiny private sector, the Times reports.
The surprise move by President Barack Obama this month to abruptly end 54 years of diplomatic isolation of Cuba prompted critics to ask whether the U.S. demanded anything of substance in return.
The administration, under pressure to prove that the controversial deal will lead to a more open and democratic Cuban society, is insisting that it will preclude Castro from blaming America for his government's failings, the Times reports.
It is believed that Cuba is holding more political prisoners than just the 53 scheduled for release, and formal U.S.-Cuba talks on human rights aren't scheduled. But a State Department's official told the Times, "“For many of us who worked on human rights in Cuba for many years, it feels like this is the first time we really have a chance."
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