President Joe Biden will remove the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a prisoner release deal, the White House said Tuesday.
Soon after, Cuba announced that it would release 553 prisoners held for “various crimes”. It is hoped that these will include those who participated in the anti-government protests of the past four years.
President-elect Donald Trump has been reinstated the designation of a terrorist country in the final days of his first presidential term in 2021, blocking US economic aid and arms exports to the country.
But on Tuesday, a senior Biden administration official said an assessment of the situation “lacks data” that supports the nomination.
Cuba said Biden’s move was a step “in the right direction” despite the “limited situation”.
“This decision ends certain coercive measures, as well as many others, that are causing great damage to the Cuban economy, with a severe impact on the people,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Hundreds of prisoners will be “gradually released” following statements made by the Catholic Church, a separate statement read a few hours later.
Details of the prisoners have not been announced – it was hoped that the deal would lead to the release of protesters who were arrested after massive anti-government protests in Cuba due to the country’s economic collapse in 2021.
Cuba currently sits alongside North Korea, Syria and Iran list of US State sponsors of terrorism.
This means that the US is deemed to have “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism”.
Putting Cuba back on the list after it was removed in 2015 by President Barack Obama, Trump revealed that the communist country supports Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
At the time, Cuba called this act “dishonest”, “hypocritical” and an act of “political opportunism”.
Along with encouraging the release of prisoners, this decision is also important because it can be seen as a step towards normalizing relations between Cuba and the US.
This can pave the way for discussions on other controversial issues.
It may also help the poor economic situation in Cuba, as some major banks and foreign investors are struggling to operate there legally.
Biden will brief Congress on his plans, which include rolling back Trump-era financial restrictions on some Cubans, the White House said in a statement.
He will also suspend people’s ability to apply for confiscation of property in Cuba, the statement read.
It is unclear whether Trump will reverse the latest decision when he returns to office on January 20.
The president’s nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has been advocating for sanctions against Cuba for a long time.
His family turned their backs in the 1950s before the communist revolution that put Fidel Castro in power.
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