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US President Joe Biden has informed Congress of his plan to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. The White House announced that this decision was part of a deal brokered by the Catholic Church to release political prisoners in Cuba.
Senior US administration officials, speaking anonymously, said that “many dozens” of political prisoners and others considered unjustly detained by the US would be freed by the end of the Biden administration on January 20. The US will also reduce some economic pressure on Cuba and revise a 2017 memorandum issued by former President Donald Trump that toughened the US stance toward the island nation.
Cuba said that it will free 553 prisoners following removal from US terror list.
However, the decision by the outgoing Democrat president is expected to be reversed soon after Trump, the Republican president-elect, takes office and Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state, according to a report by news agency Associated Press. Rubio, whose family left Cuba before the communist revolution led by Fidel Castro, has long advocated for sanctions against Cuba.
In the final days of Trump’s first administration, on January 11, 2021, the White House had reinstated Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing its support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and refusal to extradite Colombian rebels, among other issues.
Biden’s administration has determined that there is “no credible evidence” that Cuba currently supports international terrorism. Congress and the incoming Trump administration will have the opportunity to review and potentially reverse Biden’s actions.
Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, criticized the move, saying, “President Biden is a pathetic coward. Come January 20th, there will be a NEW SHERIFF in town & President Trump alongside Secretary of State @SenMarcoRubio will not only put #Cuba BACK on the list but PULVERIZE the regime once & for all!”
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