Biden Removes Cuba From State Sponsor of Terrorism List

In a stunning move that has shocked lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, President Joe Biden (D) has decided to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The incumbent president notified Congress that he intended to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism (SSOT) as part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island.

According to U.S. administration officials, there are “many dozens” of political prisoners and others that the U.S. considers to be unjustly detailed. The move would ensure that they are released by the end of the Biden Administration, which is noon on January 20^th.

As expected, lawmakers had a lot to say, and the response has been divisive.

Texas Rep. Greg Casar (D), the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, applauded the decision, commenting that it “will save innocent Cuban lives and reduce forced migration.”

“In July 2024, I led a letter signed by 46 Members of Congress urging the Biden Administration to remove Cuba from the SSOT,” he informed in a statement, adding that “in the final days of his administration, President Trump unjustly added Cuba back onto the list when Cuba adhered to its commitments in Colombian peace talks.”

Chair Casar went on to posit that “the SSOT designation contributed to mass Cuban poverty and fueled outward migration, including to the U.S.”

Given that President-elect Donald Trump (R) is heading back to the White House, Chair Casar argues that the president-elect has a choice: “Does he double down on his policies that did not work and add Cuba back on the SSOT – fueling displacement and forced migration – or does he do what is right and stick to Biden’s decision that reduces poverty and forced migration?”

Other Democrats were less welcoming of the decision.

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) noted that though unjustly detained prisoners would be freed, “the Cuban regime has doubled down on brutality – violently crushing pro-democracy protests, arbitrarily jailing and torturing Cubans and Americans for political leverage, robbing their citizens to fund widespread espionage against the U.S., providing safe harbor to individuals complicit in terror attacks against America and our treaty allies, and funding and ordering transnational repression and assassination.”