Wrong Turn on Cuba and for the Americas

President Joe Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list and roll back measures aimed at advancing U.S. national interests—such as countering Russia’s presence in Cuba or securing the release of Americans unjustly detained there—is a grave misstep in U.S. foreign policy. This action signals a retreat from our commitment to protecting American citizens abroad and holding authoritarian regimes accountable for their actions. The new Trump administration should immediately work to reverse the removal and consider adding Venezuela to the SST list.

A quick note on the political prisoner release. Cuba has reportedly released hundreds of political prisoners. This is a token gesture, given that many more remain imprisoned. While such releases are welcome for the individuals and families affected, they are a political smokescreen with no legal or policy bearing on the SST designation. The release of political prisoners, while significant, does not alter the Cuban regime’s broader reality of systemic repression or its long-standing history of supporting terrorism. Freedom of speech, assembly, and political dissent remain tightly controlled, and using prisoners as diplomatic bargaining chips does nothing to address these abuses.

I spoke with senior Catholic Church officials in Cuba this week, and they stressed to me that the Church's role in the prisoner releases is being exaggerated. They played only a minor role, and I agree this is how it should be to keep channels open. Other Church officials outside Cuba have privately confided similar opinions, noting that the left uses the Church’s image as a political fig leaf as usual. The Catholic Church remains highly persecuted in Cuba and will continue to be until the island is free.