
A few days before concluding his term and leaving the White House, US President Joe Biden has decided to remove Cuba's designation as state sponsor of terrorism, following the Cuban authorities' agreement to release hundreds of political prisoners.
Cuba is one of the countries designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, alongside North Korea, Syria, and Iran. President Trump decided to place Cuba on the blacklist in the final days of his first presidency and prohibited US economic aid and arms exports to the country. Biden has now decided to remove Cuba from this list.
The Cuban regime has announced that it "will release 553 prisoners who were detained for various crimes." These are primarily prisoners who were arrested in 2021, during major protests against the Cuban government, due to the economic crisis that has afflicted the country.
A Biden administration official stated that new information presented to the President, "did not provide information supporting the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism."
Cuba welcomed the White House announcement and said that "Biden's move is a step in the right direction, despite its limited nature. This decision is putting an end to specific coercive measures, which, along with many others, are causing severe damage to the Cuban economy, and seriously impacting the population."
President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, wrote on X, "I thank all those who contributed to the decision announced today by the US to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, where it should never have been. Together with other measures taken, they imposed a high cost on the country and on Cuban families."