Jan. 14 (UPI) — The Biden administration removed Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism on Tuesday, reversing the Trump administration’s 2021 policy less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and prompting Cuba to release hundreds of political prisoners.
“Today, we notified Congress that President Joe Biden determined Cuba should no longer be designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” The White House announced in a statement.
“We are taking several steps to support the Cuban people as part of an understanding with the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis and improve the livelihood of Cubans,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added.
In response, the Catholic Church informed the White House that the Cuban government would “release a substantial number of political prisoners.” On Tuesday, 553 political prisoners were freed. Most had been jailed following protests in July 2021.
“I thank all those who contributed to the decision announced today by the United States to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, where it should never have been and which, together with two other measures adopted, has had a high cost for the country and Cuban families,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez wrote Tuesday in a post on X.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also applauded the move.
“The decision to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list reflects a necessary alignment of policy with facts,” Meeks said in a statement Tuesday. “This shift is a clear demonstration that sanctions, when used as a policy rather than a targeted tool, fail to bring about change.”
In his letter, Biden also announced the suspension of the Libertad Act for six months.
“Consistent with section 306(c)(1)(B) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, I hereby determine that suspension for six months beyond Jan. 29, 2025, of the right to bring an action under Title III of the Act is necessary to the national interests of the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.”
Biden also rescinded the 2017 National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 on Cuba policy Tuesday to eliminate the so-called restricted list and the regulations on engagement “by U.S. persons and entities with Cuban persons and entities, beyond that which is currently prescribed in U.S. legislation.”
The Trump administration gave Cuba the designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in January 2021, shortly before Biden took office.
“With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice,” The White House said in 2021 with a reference to Raul Castro, former first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and brother of dictator Fidel Castro.
On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, blasted the move as “unacceptable on its merits.”
“The terrorism advanced by the Cuban regime has not ceased,” Cruz said in a statement. “I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage from the decision.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also criticized the Biden administration’s plan as a “parting gift to dictators and terrorists.”
“Joe Biden’s parting gift to dictators and terrorists around the world: taking Cuba off the State Sponsor of Terrorism List and making it easier for them to threaten our national security. This is reckless and dangerous,” Scott wrote Tuesday in a post on X.
“Biden’s appeasement is feeding right into the hands of Cuba’s dictators, who fuel terrorism and oppress their people,” Scott added. “I’ll be working with President Trump on Day One to hold the Communist Cuban regime accountable and free the Cuban people.”