Originally published at National Catholic Register
The Biden administration officially announced the removal on Tuesday afternoon.
The Biden administration in its final days will remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department’s state-sponsor-of-terrorism list, a decision the White House says was facilitated with the help of the Vatican to secure the release of political prisoners there.
A senior administration official told media in a call on Tuesday that President Joe Biden would be lifting Cuba from the list. The Biden administration officially announced the removal on Tuesday afternoon.
The country has been just one of four on the list, the others being North Korea, Syria and Iran.
The island-nation was placed on the list on Jan. 11, 2021, in the waning days of the first Trump administration. The White House said at the time its aim was “denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.”
The White House has coordinated with the Catholic Church, among others, to improve conditions in Cuba and secure the release of political prisoners, the official said on Tuesday. Human Rights Watch says more than 1,000 individuals in Cuba meet the definition
