Requested by U.S. allies, the move is part of a deal for Cuba to release anti-communist protesters imprisoned in the country.
President Joe Biden informed Congress on Jan. 14 that he is taking communist Cuba off the U.S. State Department’s state-sponsored terrorism list. The directive is among other steps meant to facilitate the release of political prisoners arrested for protesting the island’s communist regime.
“We expect and anticipate that these measures announced today will bring very quick relief to the many dozens of Cubans who were arrested in conjunction with the July 2021 protests, as well as bring relief to their family members,” an administration official said.
“Today’s actions demonstrate that President Biden’s Cuba policy, which is focused on achieving practical results with respect to human rights in Cuba, will pay dividends for the Cuban community.”
According to a second senior administration official, the decision to remove Cuba from the state-sponsored terror list comes after several allies had asked that it be removed. Allies mentioned include Colombia, Brazil, the European Union, Canada, and Chile.
Reporters asked about the timing of Cuba’s removal from the terror sponsor list, noting that less than a week remains in Biden’s presidency. Questions were also raised about how easily the incoming Trump administration could put Cuba back on the list.
Cuba had been taken off the list during the Obama administration’s rapprochement with the communist nation. Cuba’s re-designation as a state sponsor of terrorism came on Jan. 11, 2021, the final days of President-elect Donald Trump’s first term. It was partly because of allegations that Cuba was harboring leaders of the Leninist guerrilla terrorist group, the National Liberation Army of Colombia.
The officials said that Cuba’s status on the list was under constant review by the federal government and intelligence agencies. Removal requires a nation to show no engagement in terrorist activity for at least six months and to provide assurance that it would not engage in terrorism going forward.
During the previous six months, Colombia asked that Cuba be removed from the list, citing its positive role in Colombia’s domestic peace talks in October 2024.
