US removes Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism

President-elect Donald Trump returned Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism during the final days of his previous term in 2021, banning US economic aid and arms exports to the country.

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Photo: REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
Photo: REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Outgoing US President Joseph Biden will remove Cuba from the list of states that support terrorism as part of a prisoner release deal, the White House announced.

Shortly after this announcement, Cuba announced that it would release 533 prisoners who were being held for "various crimes."

Many in Cuba hope that they will be among the participants. anti-government protests from four years ago.

President-elect Donald Trump returned Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism during the final days of his previous term in 2021, thereby banning US economic aid and arms exports to the country.

On Tuesday, January 14, a Biden administration official said that during the reassessment of the situation, no information was identified that would support Cuba remaining on this list.

Biden's move is a step "in the right direction" despite its "limited nature," Cuban officials said.

"This decision puts an end to the special coercive measures, which, along with many others, have caused serious damage to the Cuban economy, with grave consequences for the population," the Cuban foreign minister said in a statement.

Hundreds of prisoners will be "gradually" released after talks brokered by the Catholic Church, a separate statement said hours later.

Details of the prisoners to be released have not been released, but there are hopes that the deal will lead to the release of protesters who ended up in prison after large anti-government protests in Cuba over economic crisis 2021

Along with North Korea, Syria, and Iran, Cuba is currently on the US list of countries that support terrorism.

This means that the US believes they have "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism."

Donald Trump has returned Cuba to this list six years after President Barack Obama removed it.

Trump then highlighted Cuba's communist support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

At the time, Cuba called the move "cynical," "hypocritical," and "political opportunism."

In addition to the release of prisoners, this decision is important because it can be considered a step towards normalizing relations between Cuba and America.

This could open the way for discussion on other contentious issues.

It could also help the difficult economic situation in Cuba, where some of the major banks and foreign investors are struggling to operate legally.

Biden will brief Congress on his plans, which include lifting financial sanctions that Trump has imposed against some Cubans, the White House said in a statement.

It is unknown whether Trump will reverse this decision when he takes office on January 20.

Trump's pick for national security adviser, Mike Walz, told Fox News that "everything they [the Biden administration] are doing we can undo now, and no one should be under any illusion that policy on Cuba has changed."

A Biden administration official said that in return, Cuba would "gradually" release 553 prisoners "who were unjustly detained."

Havana has not released details of who could be released, but family members of those detained for participating in anti-government protests in 2021 said they hope their loved ones will be among them.

Lisette Fonseca, whose 41-year-old son was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in the 2021 protests, said that "all mothers of prisoners want our children to be free and to free them from the suffering and hell that are the prisons in Cuba."

"They shouldn't have been in prison," she told AFP news agency.

Marco Rubio, whom Trump nominated for Secretary of State, has long advocated sanctions against Cuba.

His family left the country in the 1950s before the communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.

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