Biden will remove Cuba from the list of states that support terrorism

U.S. officials announced Tuesday that President Biden will remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism as part of a 2021 deal to free protesters jailed in a sweeping crackdown by the Communist government.

Mr. Biden’s decision is the latest in a series of environmental, immigration and foreign policy decisions in the final days of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s presidency before he returns to the White House. A Cuban withdrawal would normally raise expectations of a normalization of relations between Washington and Havana.

But Mr. Biden’s decision is only the latest in a series of conflicting approaches to Cuba by different US administrations. The Obama administration decided to remove Cuba from the list. But just days before Mr. Trump leaves office in 2021, his administration has put Cuba back on him.

Mr. Biden’s move could help Cuba’s ailing economy. Major banks had stopped doing business with Cuba because it was too difficult to make sure the country met all the requirements to do business there legally.

It is unclear whether Mr. Trump will reverse Mr. Biden’s decision.

US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to review Mr. Biden’s move, said the United States was delisting Cuba as part of the Catholic Church’s efforts to free jailed protesters.

They were detained after a brutal government crackdown followed one of the largest demonstrations since Cuba’s communist government took power nearly 60 years ago by protesters angry about the country’s spiraling economic decline.

Human rights groups say some were arrested during and after the protests that they were tortured and many were sentenced to long prison terms after unfair trials.

Many experts have long criticized Cuba’s listing as a state sponsor of terrorism.

William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University, said, “The law that creates the terrorism list defines providing financial support to terrorists or giving shelter to terrorists who are actively engaged in terrorism.” “Cuba just didn’t do those things.”

Mr. Leogrande said several U.S. refugees live in Cuba, but they should not be counted because they are Americans, have participated in politically motivated violence in the United States and are not international terrorists.