Biden will raise the name of Cuba as a terrorist sponsor in order to release the prisoners

Washington – The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it would remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and ease economic restrictions as part of a deal to free political prisoners.

The Catholic Church brokered a deal that would have allowed for the release of dozens of political prisoners before President Biden left office at noon on Jan. 20, said a senior administration official. The prisoners were arrested after the government’s crackdown on the 2021 protests sparked by economic instability. About 1 million Cubans left the country during the turmoil, most of them coming to the US

“Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the policy of the United States regarding Cuba has focused on empowering the Cuban people to freely determine their own future, and advancing the respect of human rights,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. statement.

The decision is likely to be reversed by the incoming Trump administration. Sen. Marco RubioPresident-elect Donald Trump’s appointment as secretary of state, whose family fled Cuba in the 1950s, supports tough sanctions against the communist government in Havana.

GOP lawmakers also expressed immediate dismay at the move. In a statement, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said the removal of the name was “unacceptable” and would harm US national security.

Senior officials in the Biden administration said there was no evidence to support a continued sponsor of terrorism designation based on the government’s latest assessment, and stressed that the Trump administration would be working on the same data if it decided to re-designate Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism. . The Biden team has been in contact with colleagues on the Trump team on the matter, officials said.

President Barack Obama similarly removed Cuba from the terrorist list. Trump reinstated that position shortly before leaving office in 2021.

Michael Bustamante, a professor at the University of Miami, said the designation of terrorist sponsors “makes it very difficult for Cuba to do business.”

“The removal represents life, in a sense, for the Cuban tourism industry,” Bustamante said. “That is, if this is removed it sticks.”

Bustamante said the last-minute decision by the Biden administration could have unintended consequences when the Trump administration takes office in less than a week.

“Even if you think this is the right move, there’s a real question now as to whether this puts a bigger target on Cuba’s back in terms of the incoming Trump administration possibly trying to reimpose tough sanctions on the island,” Bustamante said.