Cuba releases 553 prisoners after removal from US terrorism list

Cuba on Tuesday said it will release 553 prisoners, after US President Joe Biden administration's announcement that it would remove the country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the prisoner release stems from negotiations with the Catholic Church.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel sent a letter to Pope Francis communicating "the decision to grant freedom to 553 individuals sanctioned in due process for various crimes outlined in law." The statement did not mention the Biden announcements.

Biden's announcements will also ease certain economic restrictions on Cuba and rescind a 2017 memo issued by President-elect Donald Trump during his previous term ending in 2021, which significantly hardened US policy towards Cuba.

Diaz-Canel expressed gratitude on X, acknowledging "all those who contributed to the decision announced today by the United States to exclude Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation it should never have received."

Other countries currently listed as state sponsors of terrorism include North Korea, Iran, and Syria.

The Cuban government clarified that the releases will be conducted "based on a careful analysis" of each individual case.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added Cuba to the state sponsor of terrorism list in January 2021 after the Cuban government refused to extradite leaders of a Colombian guerrilla organization who were in Havana for peace talks at the time of a deadly bombing in Colombia. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, may seek to reimpose the sanctions once he returns to office.

This instance marks not the first time that the Cuban government has released a significant number of prisoners following Vatican-mediated negotiations. In 1998, during Pope John Paul II's visit to the island, Fidel Castro released 200 individuals. In 2003, 75 detained dissidents were released after talks with the Vatican and thousands of prisoners were released on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba in 2011. Nearly 3,500 prisoners were also released before the arrival of Pope Francis in 2015.

The official statement did not specify which prisoners would be released or the exact timeline.