The US will remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House has confirmed, as part of a deal that will see some of the island’s political prisoners freed.

Previewing what will be one of the final acts of the outgoing Biden administration, senior US officials said that Cuba will release “many dozens” from jail before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

In an agreement negotiated with the help of the Catholic Church, the US will also ease certain economic pressure on Cuba. However, its decades-long trade embargo against the island will continue.

US President Joe Biden decided to lift Cuba’s terrorism designation after reflecting on “the wisdom and counsel that has been provided to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America”, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The decision, which leaves Iran, North Korea and Syria as the only countries accused by the US of backing terrorism, reverses a policy reintroduced by the Trump administration in January 2021. The designation had previously been removed by Barack Obama.

A senior Biden official explained on Tuesday that an assessment on Cuba had been completed, showing that “we do not have information that supports Cuba’s designation as being a state sponsor of terrorism”.

The Cuban authorities welcomed Biden’s move but acknowledged that it could be reversed by Trump.

“Despite its limited scope, this is a decision that points to the right direction and is in line with the sustained and firm demand by the government and the people of Cuba,” the country’s foreign ministry said.

It added that Biden’s action “rectifies, in a very limited way, some aspects of a cruel and unjust policy”.

However, the ministry also said that the US’ ongoing economic sanctions against Cuba, which it described as “economic warfare”, was exerting a large cost on its population.

Cuba has not linked the lifting of the terrorism designation to its upcoming release of prisoners. Instead, it said that it would liberate 553 people “in the spirit of” mercy, encouraged by Pope Francis during this year’s Jubilee.

Although the authorities have not said which prisoners will be included, it is likely that many will come from those detained during large protests on the island in July 2021.

That summer, hundreds of people were arrested for demonstrating against the island’s communist government, in protests that were sparked by tough living conditions, including a food and medicine shortage.

Some Republicans were quick to criticise Biden’s decision on Cuba — saying that things would be different under Trump.

Carlos Giménez, a representative from Florida, took to X to say that Trump and Marco Rubio, his pick for secretary of state, would act to “pulverise the (Cuban) regime once and for all”.

Rubio, whose family fled Cuba in the 1950s, is a staunch supporter of economic sanctions against the island.

The US will remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House has confirmed, as part of a deal that will see some of the island’s political prisoners freed.

Previewing what will be one of the final acts of the outgoing Biden administration, senior US officials said that Cuba will release “many dozens” from jail before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

In an agreement negotiated with the help of the Catholic Church, the US will also ease certain economic pressure on Cuba. However, its decades-long trade embargo against the island will continue.

US President Joe Biden decided to lift Cuba’s terrorism designation after reflecting on “the wisdom and counsel that has been provided to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America”, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The decision, which leaves Iran, North Korea and Syria as the only countries accused by the US of backing terrorism, reverses a policy reintroduced by the Trump administration in January 2021. The designation had previously been removed by Barack Obama.

A senior Biden official explained on Tuesday that an assessment on Cuba had been completed, showing that “we do not have information that supports Cuba’s designation as being a state sponsor of terrorism”.

The Cuban authorities welcomed Biden’s move but acknowledged that it could be reversed by Trump.

“Despite its limited scope, this is a decision that points to the right direction and is in line with the sustained and firm demand by the government and the people of Cuba,” the country’s foreign ministry said.

It added that Biden’s action “rectifies, in a very limited way, some aspects of a cruel and unjust policy”.

However, the ministry also said that the US’ ongoing economic sanctions against Cuba, which it described as “economic warfare”, was exerting a large cost on its population.

Cuba has not linked the lifting of the terrorism designation to its upcoming release of prisoners. Instead, it said that it would liberate 553 people “in the spirit of” mercy, encouraged by Pope Francis during this year’s Jubilee.

Although the authorities have not said which prisoners will be included, it is likely that many will come from those detained during large protests on the island in July 2021.

That summer, hundreds of people were arrested for demonstrating against the island’s communist government, in protests that were sparked by tough living conditions, including a food and medicine shortage.

Some Republicans were quick to criticise Biden’s decision on Cuba — saying that things would be different under Trump.

Carlos Giménez, a representative from Florida, took to X to say that Trump and Marco Rubio, his pick for secretary of state, would act to “pulverise the (Cuban) regime once and for all”.

Rubio, whose family fled Cuba in the 1950s, is a staunch supporter of economic sanctions against the island.