U.S. President Joe Biden said he will lift Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that automatically eases some economic sanctions on the country. Meanwhile, Cuba announced it will release 553 prisoners—some of them political prisoners that will reportedly be released before Biden leaves office—as part of an agreement it made with the Catholic Church, although Havana did not explicitly tie their release to Biden’s announcement. (Washington Post)
Our Take
When Biden first took office in 2021, he was widely expected to reboot U.S.-Cuba policy to reverse measures put in place by former President Donald Trump during his first term. Trump methodically undid virtually all of the Obama administration’s policy of normalizing relations and thawing ties with Havana, steadily reinstating draconian economic sanctions and restrictions before redesignating Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in his final days in office.
On the campaign trail, Biden promised to return the favor by similarly reversing Trump’s policies. But once in office, he instead launched a policy review that lasted 15 months, during which all the Trump-era sanctions remained in place. He did ultimately lift the most draconian restrictions, including a ban on cash remittances from family members in the United States. But in general, Biden took an extremely cautious—and, in effect, hardline—approach to U.S.-Cuba policy.