HAVANA, April 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Cuban former counter-intelligence officer, who spent 27 years behind bars for attempting to spy for the United States, was released from prison Thursday in Havana, he told AFP.

"I feel very excited, happy and in good health, even if I need cataract surgery on both eyes," Ernesto Borges said in a video call, adding that he wanted to leave Cuba "as soon as possible" and move to the United States.

Borges was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a military tribunal in 1999 after being caught trying to pass on classified information to US diplomats in Havana.

The 59-year-old, who has a 21-year-old daughter living in Canada, said Thursday he did not regret his actions.

"At that time I thought it was the best decision to take and I would do it again," he said, adding he was in possession of "numerous" state secrets at the time.

He said he spent 11 years of his imprisonment in Combinado del Este prison, Cuba's biggest, in solitary confinement.

He had repeatedly protested the severity of his sentence, which he said made it appear "as if the crime had taken place."