US President Joe Biden intends to lift Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, White House says announced Tuesdayas part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free the island’s political prisoners.
Senior U.S. administration officials, who previewed the announcement on condition of anonymity, said that “several dozen” political prisoners and others considered by the United States to be unjustly detained would be released by the end of the Biden administration, January 20 at noon.
The United States would also ease some economic pressures on Cuba, as well as a 2017 memorandum issued by then-President Donald Trump toughening Washington’s stance toward Cuba.
Biden “honors the wisdom and advice provided to him by many world leaders, particularly in Latin America, who encouraged him to take these actions, on how best to advance the human rights of the Cuban people,” the White House said. » declared secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a press release.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the government had informed Pope Francis that it would release 553 people convicted of various crimes. They will be gradually released as authorities analyze legal and humanitarian options.
The ministry did not link their release to the US decision, but said it was “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of the year 2025” declared by Pope Francis.
Cuban authorities did not say who was among the 553 people expected to be released.
This is unlikely to last
The outgoing president’s resolve is likely to reverse as early as next week after Trump, the president-elect, takes office and U.S. Secretary of State designate Marco Rubio becomes the nation’s top diplomat.
Rubio, whose family left Cuba in the 1950s before the communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, has long been a supporter of sanctions against the island nation. Rubio will appear before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing and is expected to address his Cuban roots in his testimony.
Trump also named Mauricio Claver-Carone, a former White House National Security Council adviser and strong supporter of sanctions against Cuba, as his special envoy to Latin America.
In the final days of the first Trump administration, January 11, 2021, the White House reinstated the designationwhich was reversed during the period of rapprochement between Cuba and the United States during the second term of President Barack Obama. In doing so, the Trump administration cited, among other issues, Cuba’s support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and its refusal to extradite Colombian rebels to Colombia, including its continued harboring of wanted Americans.
Biden-era sanctions
About six months later, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on island officials and the National Revolutionary Police after hundreds of Cubans were arrested during demonstrations in Havana and other cities to protest shortages, power outages and government policies. These were the first protests of this type since the 1990s.
Human rights groups and activists, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, have pressured the Biden administration to lift the designation to ease the suffering of the Cuban people who are feeling the impact of Cuba’s economic isolation.
The Cuban government recognized this announcement and expressed its gratitude, even if it considers it “limited”.
“The decision announced today by the United States rectifies, in a very limited way, certain aspects of a cruel and unjust policy,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“No credible evidence”
Senior U.S. administration officials said the Biden administration has determined there is “no credible evidence” that Cuba is currently engaged in supporting international terrorism.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the government was aware that the new U.S. government could reverse its decision, but that it would remain “ready to develop a respectful relationship with this country.”
There was no immediate comment from the Trump transition team, nor from Rubio or his office, but one of his Republican colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas quickly denounced this decision.
“Today’s decision is unacceptable on its merits,” Cruz said in a statement. “The terrorism carried out by the Cuban regime has not stopped. I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage caused by this decision.”
Biden, in a national security memorandum released Tuesday, certified that Cuba has provided no support for international terrorism over the past six months and provided the administration with assurance that it would not support acts of terrorism in the future.
The move comes after the administration in May removed Cuba from the State Department’s restricted list of countries it considers uncooperative against violent groups.
