Cuba releases two prisoners in sign of meeting U.S. agreement

Raul Borges, 74, holds a picture of his son Ernesto Borges in his house in Havana January 2, 2015. Ernesto Borges, a KGB-trained counter-intelligence officer, has been in a Cuban prison for 16 years for attempting to hand over secrets to a U.S. diplomat in Cuba. His case, along with others, is representative of dozens now in the spotlight after the U.S. government said Cuba agreed to free 53 people considered political prisoners by Washington. The prisoner release is part of a deal last month to renew diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba that aims to end more than five decades of hostility. REUTERS/David Adams

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cuba released two detainees on Wednesday in a sign it was fulfilling an agreement to free 53 people the United States regards as political prisoners as part of a thaw in relations between the two nations.

The government released 19-year-old twin brothers Diango Vargas Martin and Bianco Vargas Martin on Wednesday afternoon, according to opposition activists. The pair were arrested in December 2012 and sentenced to 30 months in jail for disorderly conduct and threatening a state official.