Cuba announce the release of 553 prisoners following removal from US terror list

Cuba announced on Tuesday that it would release 553 prisoners in response to the U.S. removing the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

This decision, which was welcomed by the families of jailed protesters, came just days before President Joe Biden was set to leave office. The White House confirmed that Biden had made the move as one of his final actions in office, ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, the decision is likely to be reversed by Trump, who reinstated Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism during his final days in 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 Biden Administration official told reporters. The deal was negotiated with the help of the Catholic Church for the release of “political prisoners in Cuba and those who have been detained unjustly”, the official added.