
In a significant policy shift, President Joe Biden has informed Congress of his intention to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. This move, announced by the White House, is part of a broader agreement facilitated by the Catholic Church to secure the release of political prisoners in Cuba. Senior U.S. administration officials, speaking anonymously, revealed that many dozen political prisoners and others deemed unjustly detained by the U.S. would be released by the end of the Biden administration on January 20. This move is expected to alleviate some of the economic pressure on Cuba, a country grappling with economic isolation and its associated hardships.
Biden’s decision and potential reversal
The decision to lift the designation is a reversal of the 2017 memorandum issued by then-President Donald Trump, which hardened the U.S. stance towards Cuba. However, this decision by President Biden could be reversed as early as next week when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office and Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio takes over as America’s top diplomat.
Marco Rubio, whose family fled Cuba in the 1950s before the communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, has been a staunch advocate of sanctions on the communist island. He is expected to address his Cuban roots in his testimony during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In addition to Rubio, President-elect Trump has appointed Mauricio Claver-Carone, a former White House National Security Council aide and a strong supporter of sanctions against Cuba, as his special envoy to Latin America. These appointments signal a potential return to a more hardline U.S. policy towards Cuba. The decision to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism was reinstated by the Trump administration on January 11, 2021, citing Cuba’s support for Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, its refusal to extradite Colombian rebels, and its continued harboring of wanted Americans among other issues.
Despite this, the decision has been met with criticism from some quarters. Texas Senator Ted Cruz denounced the move, stating, The terrorism advanced by the Cuban regime has not ceased. I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage from the decision. Similarly, Florida Republican Representative Carlos Gimenez criticized the move and predicted that Trump would quickly reverse Biden’s decision.
The Cuban foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that the government would release 553 people who had been convicted of various crimes. While the ministry did not link their release to the U.S. decision, it stated that the releases would be carried out gradually as authorities analyze the legal and humanitarian ways to make it happen.