US President Joe Biden intends to raise the profile of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House announced on Tuesday, as part of an agreement made 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 “dozens” of political prisoners and others deemed by the U.S. to be arbitrarily detained will be released by the end of the Biden administration at noon on Jan.
The US will also ease some economic pressure on Cuba, with a 2017 memorandum issued by then-president Donald Trump strengthening Washington's stance on Cuba.
Biden “respects the wisdom and advice given to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America, who have encouraged him to take these steps, regarding the best way to advance the rights of the Cuban people,” the White House said in a statement. Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba said on Tuesday that the government informed Pope Francis that it will release 553 people convicted of various crimes. It said they will be released gradually, as the authorities evaluate legal and humanitarian measures.
The ministry did not link their release to the US decision, but said it was “in the spirit of the General Jubilee of the year 2025” announced by Pope Francis.
Cuban authorities have not said who among the 553 people will be released.
It won't last long
The outgoing president's decision is likely to be reversed as early as next week after Trump, the president-elect, takes office and US Secretary-elect Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state.
Rubio, whose family left Cuba in the 1950s before the Communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, has long been a proponent of sanctions against the island nation. Rubio will appear before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing and is expected to address his Cuban origins in his testimony.
Trump also appointed Mauricio Claver-Carone, a former White House National Security Council aide and a staunch supporter of sanctions against Cuba, to be his special envoy to Latin America.
In the last days of Trump's first administration, on January 11, 2021, the White House restored the name, which had been postponed during the tensions between Cuba and the United States during the second term of President Barack Obama. In doing so, the Trump administration highlighted Cuba's support for Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, and its refusal to return Colombian rebels to Colombia, among other things, including its continued detention of wanted Americans.
Sanctions of the Biden era
Nearly six months later, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on the island's officials and the national revolutionary police after hundreds of Cubans were arrested during protests in Havana and other cities against shortages, power outages and government policies. It was the first such protests since the 1990s.
Human rights organizations and activists, including the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, have been pressing the Biden administration to raise the word to alleviate the suffering of Cubans who are feeling the impact of Cuba's economic isolation.
The Cuban government recognized the announcement and expressed gratitude, although it considered it “limited.”
“The decision announced today by the United States corrects, in a limited way, some aspects of this cruel and unjust policy,” the State Department said in a statement.
'There is no concrete evidence'
Senior US administration officials said the Biden administration has determined there is “no substantial evidence” that Cuba is currently involved in supporting international terrorism.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the government knows the incoming US government could reverse the decision, but it will remain “ready to build a respectful relationship with that country.”
There was no immediate comment from Trump's transition team or from Rubio or his office, but one of his Republican colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, quickly criticized the move.
“Today's decision is unacceptable on its merits,” Cruz said in a statement. “The terrorism promoted by the Cuban regime has not ended. I will work with President Trump and our colleagues to quickly reverse and minimize the damage caused by the decision.”
Biden, in a national security memorandum released on Tuesday, confirmed that Cuba has not provided any support to international terrorism during the past six months and has given the administration assurances that it will not support terrorist acts in the future.
The move comes after the administration in May removed Cuba from the State Department's short list that it deems less than fully cooperating with violent groups.
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