Havana , Cuba ( CNN ) -- Ariel Sigler is the latest of 21 Cuban political prisoners to fly into exile after being freed from jail in Cuba . Gaunt , and confined to a wheelchair , the former boxer received a hero 's welcome in Miami . Later at a hospital , he talked about his release . `` The first dish that I was able to taste with great delight was the dish of freedom , the dish of democracy , the dish of my second country that has received me as if I was another one of its children , '' Sigler said . Cuba has agreed to release a total of 52 political prisoners by-mid November as part of a deal with the Catholic Church and Spain . International pressure to free them grew when one prisoner died earlier this year after an 84-day hunger strike . But the Cuban government has also ratcheted up its own campaign . It is denouncing the imprisonment of five Cuban agents held in the United States since 1998 . They 're convicted of spying in the United States . In Cuba , they 're considered heroes , fighting to protect the homeland from extremists in Miami . Over the weekend , Cuba 's National Assembly accused the U.S. of putting one of the agents , Gerardo Hernandez , in what assembly members called an `` isolation hole '' even though he was ill . The National Assembly signed a petition calling the conditions of Hernandez 's current confinement `` so harsh that his health and physical integrity are being seriously affected . '' U.S. officials could not be reached immediately for comment . Hernandez 's wife recalled Cuban President Raul Castro 's offer of a gesture for a gesture . `` Our president was very clear , '' she said . `` We were waiting for the U.S. to free the five and we would hand over the prisoners we have in Cuba , even with their relatives . Cuba has complied with its gesture . '' However , there are no indications that any talks about a tradeoff are underway between Havana and Washington . But some Cuban officials have pointed to the recent swap of Russian and American spies as evidence that there may be a possibility .
Cuba has freed 21 of its political prisoners from Cuba . Cuban officials are in the United States to free five Cuban agents . The five agents have been held in the United States since 1998 . There are no indications that a swap will take place .