According to a senior Biden administration official, the administration will take further goodwill measures toward Cuba on Tuesday, including removing it from the list of states that sponsor terrorism. Additionally, the Catholic Church will push for the release of political prisoners under a deal with the communist-run government.
According to the administration official, the Catholic Church is making substantial progress toward an agreement with Cuba to carry out a series of measures that will enable the humanitarian release of a sizable number of political prisoners in Cuba as well as others who have been wrongfully held.
Shortly before his departure in January 2021, President-elect Donald Trump named Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, five years after former President Barack Obama had taken it off the list.
According to a completed review, there is no evidence to warrant Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, the Biden official stated.
According to the administration official, Biden is taking additional steps toward Cuba as a show of goodwill in order to assist the Catholic Church and make the deal possible.
The administration will also be lifting Cuba from the list of state supporters of terrorism and waiving Title Three of the Helms Burton Act, which permits the original owners of assets that were seized in Cuba decades ago to bring legal action against foreign corporations that traffic in them.
Trump was the first president to not waive Title III of the act in 2019, but all of his predecessors did so every six months out of concern that it may hurt U.S. trade. The 1996 law was formally known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act.
The Biden official stated that he expects and anticipates that the steps made today will provide immediate assistance to the scores of Cubans who were jailed during the July 2021 protests, as well as relief to their relatives. The events of today show that the Cuban people will benefit from President Biden’s Cuba policy, which is centered on attaining real outcomes for human rights in Cuba.
Biden’s actions were questioned by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. On its own merits, today’s decision is unacceptable,” he wrote in a statement. “The Cuban leadership has continued to promote terrorism. Together with President Trump and my colleagues, I will endeavor to quickly overturn the judgment and minimize its negative effects.
Once Trump assumes office next week, Biden’s acts can be undone.
The possible influence of Cuban American Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio, who has always pushed for a tough stance on Cuba, has fueled speculation about Trump’s foreign policy. Trump appointed Mauricio Claver-Carone as his special envoy for Latin America. Claver-Carone was the mastermind behind several of Trump’s harsh policies in the region during his first term.