Biden to lift Cuba’s designation as terror sponsor in exchange for release of prisoners

Washington — The Biden administration on Tuesday announced it will remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism and ease economic restrictions as part of a deal for the release of political prisoners.

The Catholic Church facilitated the agreement that would allow for the humanitarian release of dozens of political prisoners before President Biden leaves office at noon on Jan. 20, a senior administration official said. The prisoners were arrested after a government crackdown on protests in 2021 that were triggered by an economic crisis. Almost 1 million Cubans left the country amid the unrest, with a majority coming to the U.S.

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

The decision is likely to be reversed by the incoming Trump administration. Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state whose family fled Cuba in the 1950s, supports strong sanctions on Havana’s Communist regime.

GOP lawmakers also quickly expressed outrage over the move. In a statement, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the removal of the designation is “unacceptable” and will do damage to American national security.

Senior Biden administration officials said there is no evidence to support an ongoing state sponsor of terrorism designation based on a recent government assessment, and they emphasized that the Trump administration will be working off the same information if they decide to redesignate Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism. The Biden team has been in touch with their counterparts on the Trump team on the issue, the officials said.

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

Michael Bustamante, a professor at the University of Miami, said terrorism sponsor designation “makes it very difficult for Cuba to conduct business.”

“The removal represents a lifeline, in a sense, of the Cuban tourist industry,” Bustamante said. “That is, if this removal sticks.” 

Bustamante said the last-minute decision by the Biden administration could have unintended consequences when the Trump administration takes power 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 for an incoming Trump administration that was likely to try to reimpose tougher sanctions on the island anyway,” Bustamante said.