US President Joe Biden notified Congress of his intention to lift the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House announced, as part of an agreement facilitated by the Catholic Church to release political prisoners on the island.
Senior U.S. administration officials, who previewed the announcement on condition of anonymity, said “many dozens” of political prisoners and others considered by the U.S. to be unjustly detained would be released at the end of the Biden administration, at noon on Jan. 20.
The United States would also ease some economic pressure on Cuba, as well as a 2017 memo issued by then-President Donald Trump that toughened the United States' stance toward Cuba.
“By taking these steps to reinforce the ongoing dialogue between the government of Cuba and the Catholic Church, President Biden is also honoring the wisdom and counsel given to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America, who have encouraged him to take these actions, on the best way to promote the human rights of the Cuban people,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Cuba's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the government informed Pope Francis that it will release 553 people who had been convicted of different crimes. He said that they will be released gradually, while the authorities analyze the legal and humanitarian means to make it a reality.
The Foreign Ministry did not link the release of the prisoners to the United States' decision to lift the designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, but rather “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of the year 2025 declared by His Holiness.”
Cuban authorities did not say who is among the 553 people who will be released.
The outgoing one-term Democrat's determination is likely to be reversed next week after Trump, the Republican who is now president-elect, takes office and Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio takes over as the United States' top diplomat. Joined.
Rubio, whose family left Cuba in the 1950s, before the communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, has long been an advocate of sanctions on the communist island. Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing and is expected to address his Cuban roots in his testimony.
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Trump also named Mauricio Claver-Carone, a former White House National Security Council aide and strong supporter of sanctions against Cuba, as his special envoy to Latin America.
In the final days of the first Trump administration, on January 11, 2021, the White House reinstated the designation, which had been reversed during the period of rapprochement between Cuba and the United States during President Barack Obama's second term. In doing so, the Trump administration cited Cuba's support for Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro and its refusal to extradite Colombian rebels to Colombia, among other issues, including its continued harboring of wanted Americans.
Trump's decision to designate Cuba was one of several foreign policy steps he took in the final days of his first term.
About six months after Trump designated Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on the island's 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. They were the first protests of their kind since the 1990s.
Human rights groups and activists, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, have been pressing the Biden administration to lift the designation to alleviate the suffering of the Cuban people who feel the impact of Cuba's economic isolation.
The Cuban government recognized the announcement and expressed its gratitude, although it considered it “limited.”
“Despite its limited scope, this is a decision that points in the right direction and is in line with the sustained and firm demand of the government and people of Cuba,” the country's Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
“The decision announced today by the United States rectifies, in a very limited way, some aspects of a cruel and unjust policy,” he added.
Congress and the incoming Trump administration will have the opportunity to review and potentially reverse Biden's actions, although senior US administration officials said the Biden administration had determined there was “no credible evidence” that Cuba was currently involved. in supporting international terrorism.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry said that the government is aware that the incoming United States government could reverse the decision, but that it will remain “willing to develop a respectful relationship with that country, based on dialogue and non-interference in Cuba's internal affairs. ”. both countries, despite the differences.”
There was no immediate comment from Trump's transition team or Rubio or his office, but one of his Republican colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, quickly denounced the Biden administration's move.
“Today's decision is unacceptable on its merits,” Cruz said in a statement. “The terrorism promoted by the Cuban regime has not stopped. “I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage of the decision.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., criticized the move and predicted Trump would quickly reverse Biden's decision.
“President Biden is a pathetic coward,” Giménez posted on list but will PULVERIZE the regime once and for all!
Biden, in a national security memorandum issued Tuesday, certified that Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism over the past six months and had provided the administration with assurances 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 short list of countries it considers uncooperative against violent groups.
AP writer Andrea Rodríguez in Havana, Cuba, contributed reporting.