Former political prisoner Milita Zalatarou addresses the media following his release from a Belarusian prison in Vilnius on March 19, 2026. Belarus freed 250 political prisoners on March 19, 2026 following negotiations with the United States, while Washington agreed to remove sanctions on several Belarusian companies in return, a US official said. The prisoner release, the largest in years, came hours after US envoy John Coale met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. (Photo by Petras Malukas / AFP via Getty Images)