In secret, the Catholic Church has recently been negotiating with Cuba for the release of “a significant number” of political prisoners arrested in connection with the demonstrations on the island in July 2021.
Already in the summer of 2023, Pope Francis appealed to Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel for the release of around 1,000 political prisoners.
Several sources within the Biden administration now state that an agreement is imminent – and that the US has therefore decided to remove Cuba from the terror list “as part of facilitating the negotiations”.
– We no longer have the authority to say that Cuba is a state actor that supports terrorism, states one of the sources in a conversation with SVT and several other media.
“Many dozen” prisoners may be released
One source states that it is about “many dozen” prisoners who can be released, but none of the sources want to state exactly how many.
– We expect that the releases may take place in the relatively near future, says a source.
The incoming Trump administration is said to have been kept informed, but the decision is likely to lead to criticism from Republicans and Donald Trump.
Cuba was on the terror list until 2015 when Barack Obama delisted the country – something that paved the way for diplomatic contacts between the countries for the first time in 54 years.
Shortly before the end of the Trump administration in 2020, Cuba was once again added to the list. It was criticized by Democrats at the time for being an announcement that came just days before Trump was to leave the White House. Now the Biden administration is doing the same thing, albeit in reverse.