Cuba mentioned it would launch 553 political prisoners after the Biden administration introduced Tuesday it’s eradicating Cuba from the checklist of state sponsors of terrorism and taking different “goodwill” actions.
The Catholic Church had been negotiating with the communist-run authorities over the discharge of the prisoners. Most of them have been jailed following unprecedented islandwide protests in July 2021. A brutal crackdown initially led to the arrests of greater than 1,000 individuals. Many confronted jail sentences of as much as 30 years.
“I thank all those that contributed to the choice introduced at the moment by the United States to take away Cuba from the checklist of state sponsors of terrorism, the place it ought to by no means have been,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X. “Together with two different measures adopted, they’ve had a excessive price for the nation and Cuban households.”
Before Cuba’s announcement, a senior administration official informed reporters that to assist the Catholic Church and facilitate the settlement, Biden would notify Congress that he seeks to take away Cuba from the terrorism checklist, in addition to to take different actions.
“An evaluation has been accomplished, and we shouldn’t have data that helps Cuba’s designation as being a state sponsor of terrorism,” the Biden official mentioned.
President-elect Donald Trump designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism shortly earlier than he left workplace in January 2021, 5 years after President Barack Obama eliminated it. Trump can reverse Biden’s actions as quickly as he takes workplace subsequent week.
Three Cuban American Republican members of Congress from Florida, Mario Díaz Balart, Maria Elvira Salazár and Carlos Gimenez, posted a video on X, rejecting Biden’s strikes and calling them “pathetic.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, whose father is Cuban, criticized Biden’s actions. “Today’s choice is unacceptable on its deserves,” he wrote in an announcement. “The terrorism superior by the Cuban regime has not ceased. I’ll work with President Trump and my colleagues to right away reverse and restrict the harm from the choice.”
In Cuba, Havana residents welcomed the information about Biden’s actions.
“This is certainly good for our nation, as a result of we might have extra potentialities, extra assets. It’s an development. One step at a time,” mentioned Dainerys Hernández, a bartender.
Joel Rivera, a public employee, agreed. “I believe it’s an excellent choice. It’s true that we have to be taken off that checklist, as a result of we should not be there within the first place,” he mentioned.
In addition to eradicating Cuba from the checklist, the Biden administration will situation a waiver for Title III of the Helms Burton Act, which permits the unique house owners of Cuban properties confiscated a long time in the past to sue international corporations “trafficking” in them.
In 2019, Trump was the primary president to not waive Title III. Every president earlier than him had waived the 1996 legislation, formally known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, each six months, fearing it may hurt U.S. commerce.
“We count on and anticipate that these measures introduced at the moment will convey very fast reduction to the numerous dozens of Cubans who have been arrested at the side of the July 2021 protests, in addition to convey reduction to their members of the family,” the Biden official mentioned.
Biden can be easing some financial strain on Cuba by rescinding National Security Presidential Memorandum 5, which was initially established on June 16, 2017.
“Today’s actions show that President Biden’s Cuba coverage, which is targeted on attaining sensible outcomes with respect to human rights in Cuba, pays dividends for the Cuban individuals,” the senior administration official mentioned.
Speculation over Trump’s international coverage has swirled, notably due to the potential affect of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Cuban American who’s Trump’s decide for secretary of state. Rubio, a international coverage hawk, has all the time advocated for a hard-line coverage towards Cuba.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, the architect of a few of Trump’s powerful Latin America insurance policies throughout his first administration, was chosen as particular envoy for Latin America.
CORRECTION (Jan. 14, 2025, 9:36 p.m. ET): A earlier model of this text misstated the standing of political prisoners in Cuba. They might be launched; they haven’t been launched.
