US President Joe Biden is removing the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House said on Tuesday, in a deal that will see imprisoned protesters released in the communist country.
The move is likely to be overturned after the return to office next week of Republican Donald Trump, who reinstated the designation in the last few days of his first term of office in 2021.
“An assessment has been completed, and we do not have information that supports Cuba’s designation as being a state sponsor of terrorism,” a senior administration official told reporters.
It was not clear how many prisoners were involved but the official said the release would take place “in relatively short order” and that the total freed would be “significant”.
He said the Catholic Church was “significantly advancing” an agreement with Cuba to allow for the humanitarian release of “political prisoners in Cuba and those who have been detained unjustly”.
Cuba has been dealing with over six decades of US sanctions, which the Cuban government blames for the island nation’s worst economic crisis, with shortages of fuel, food, medicines and electricity.