The Biden administration yesterday notified Congress of their intent to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. It's the first step in Trump's future plan to annex Cuba (that's a joke, please laugh).
Here's an interesting fact: President Reagan, out of all the presidents, added Cuba to the list in 1982 for the island nation's alleged ties to "international terrorism" and support for terrorist groups in Latin America. In 2015, Obama took Cuba off the list.
In 2021, the Trump administration put them back on the list, saying the country was "providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists."
There are four main categories of sanctions for countries on the list, including "restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, a ban on defense exports and sales, certain controls over exports of dual-use items, and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions." There are also penalties handed out to individuals or countries who engage in certain trade with these designated countries.
Here's Biden's reasoning for this newest pivot (and by Biden's reasoning, I mean his handlers' reasoning):
‘Concurrently to these unilateral steps that are being taken by the United States, it is our understanding that the Catholic Church is significantly advancing an agreement with Cuba to undertake a set of actions that will allow for the humanitarian release of a significant number of political prisoners in Cuba and those who have been detained unjustly,' a senior administration official said.
Another senior administration official said they expect the moves ‘will be broadly well-received in the region and beyond.'
553 prisoners, "including those who took place in the island-wide July 11, 2021 protests," are to be released in a "gradual" fashion.
This will likely be overturned by Trump within the next four years.
Then from its place in the Gulf of America, Cuba can become the 54th state (after Greenland, Canada, and Panama) 😉
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