Cuba says it will release 2,900 prisoners, including some convicted of political crimes, in the next few days.
President Raul Castro said the move was a goodwill gesture after receiving numerous requests by relatives and religious institutions.
But US national Alan Gross, who is serving 15 years for crimes against the state, is not among those to be freed.
On the separate issue of foreign travel for Cubans, President Castro said it was too early to lift restrictions.
The president told the National Assembly that those who urged a lifting of travel restrictions "are forgetting the exceptional circumstances under which Cuba lives, encircled by the hostile policy... of the US government".
Cubans require an exit visa to leave the country, and it is often denied to people who work in key professions or are out of favour with the authorities.
BBC