Cuba libre? Biden takes island off terror list

As the sun sets on his presidency, Joe Biden announced this week that he has removed Cuba from the list of US State Sponsors of Terrorism. In exchange, under a deal brokered by the Catholic Church, Havana agreed to gradually release 553 political prisoners, possibly including some of the 671 protesters jailedafter anti-government demonstrations in July 2021.

Biden also pledged to lift financial restrictions and suspended claims on confiscated Cuban property, policies imposed during the first presidency of Donald Trump. The general economic embargo of Cuba, however, still stands.

What was the response? Biden’s move drew mixed reactions. In Havana, families of prisoners expressed cautious hope of seeing their loved ones, while Cuban officials hailed the decision as ending “coercive measures” that damaged the country’s economy. But incoming US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz dismissed the action, warning, “Anything they are doing now we can undo.”

Why now? Biden made his announcement on the eve of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio confirmation hearing as Trump’s nominee for secretary of state. Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants, is a fierce critic of Havana who helped craft Trump’s Cuba sanctions in 2017. Biden’s office said the timing was a “coincidence.”

Will Cuba stay off the list? Likely not. US President Barack Obama had also removed Cuba from the SST list, but Trump reinstated Cuba in the last week of his presidency in 2021, citing “support for acts of international terrorism,” including harboring US fugitives and Colombian rebels. We’ll be watching whether Trump’s first flurry of executive orders reverses Biden’s decision, or whether the president-elect takes any action further down the road.