Human rights activists on Tuesday slammed outgoing US President Joe Biden for removing Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism (SST) at the last minute, giving the communist regime major concessions in the final days of his term. did.
Biden is less than a week away from leaving office. deleted From the Cuba SST list basis The Castro regime, known for its deep ties to and support for international terrorist organizations around the world, said it had “not supported terrorism” over the past six months. According to the Biden administration, the Castro administration has “committed not to support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
President Biden's decision brings an important culmination to the list of: other Concessions granted throughout his presidential term were considered “.limited'', the ruling communists insisted that the United States lift its “trade embargo'' on the island nation. Biden's decision was highly praised by international left-wing activists. was praised This decision also included heads of state, such as Colombia's Marxist president. Gustavo Petro and the regime of a socialist dictator Nicolas Maduroan important ally of the Cuban communists.
Cuba removed from list reportedly This followed negotiations that featured intervention from the Vatican, in return for which 553 prisoners “convicted through due process of various crimes” were “imprisoned”. According to For Castro's government, “it will gradually reap the benefits of each.”
Human rights organization Prisoners Defenders condemned The latest monthly report released on Tuesday said that in Cuba the concept of “internment” does not mean a complete “release”, but rather that an individual retains his or her conviction intact. Ta. The group said the “benefits” given to the 553 people were the same ones that had been denied to them by the communist regime for years.
Javier Lalonde, president of the prisoner advocacy group, said in remarks shared with reporters that “released” people are denied the right to work, study and live freely, so they are free from new restrictions by the ruling communists. They emphasized that they were exposed to high levels of persecution, harassment and repression. A constant threat to national security. State security authorities can “arbitrarily revoke” this measure at any time and send them back to prison.
Mr. Lalonde said prisoner lawyers are “released” prisoners who are unable to live a normal life and are forced to flee Cuba or continue to suffer post-release harassment and inability to earn a decent living. He said he has seen “hundreds” of cases among people.
Lalonde also pointed out that human rights groups have no way of confirming how many of the 553 people “released” are political prisoners rather than ordinary criminals. He suggested that only “a few dozen” of the total were actual political prisoners, with the rest likely to be civilian detainees. Lalonde claimed that the negotiations had “all signs” that they would not have a positive impact on the Cuban people.
Prisoners' lawyers say that some of those who are “released” will be “granted parole, others will likely be given super-sentence permits, and others will be given a range of auxiliary sentences, including forced labor without confinement.” They will be given money,” he said.
Human rights groups say the Castro regime has unjustly detained 58 Cubans over the past three months who were peacefully protesting against the destruction of basic services in the country. The number exceeds the number of Cuban political prisoners released during the Obama administration.
“The government that prepares this measure while simultaneously imprisoning so many innocent people is the same one yesterday, today, and always,” the report said.
What, other than the benefits the regime will derive from this obscene “exchange” (which is obscene as far as the regime is concerned, not the people who voluntarily obtained it) and the changes in the lives of the hundreds of families who will do so? will not change. In the near future, political prisoners will be seen again in their homes.
“But in Cuba, 10 million Cubans are drowning in repression. Unfortunately, every month new families are added to those suffering the scourge of political imprisonment, torture, and countless crimes against humanity. ” the report continued. “These hundreds of new political prisoners, and those to whom the regime will deny prison benefits, are the ones on whom all pressure and public political attention must now be focused.”
The Castro regime held 1,161 political prisoners by the end of 2024, 166 of whom were detained throughout 2024, according to records from prisoner advocates.
Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) announced Tuesday night that they would exclude Cuba from the SST. They released a joint video harshly criticizing President Joe Biden's decision. list.
Díaz-Balart denounced the decision as “an affront to the national security interests of the United States” and accused Biden of lying to Congress and the American people.
“Despite the regime harboring terrorists and fugitives from American law, and despite the harm to U.S. national security interests, we have removed them from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. I missed it,” Diaz-Balart said. “This is a disgrace and an invasion of the national security interests of the United States.”
Mr. Salazar warned that Mr. Biden's decision would give the Castro regime more oxygen and allow it to continue repressing its people. The representative went on to say that outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken had “repeatedly” told him that he was not considering removing Cuba from the list, and that he has now “called my office and told Mr. Biden directly from the White House. He said he was given the following instructions.” He had to take Cuba off the list. ”
Jimenez condemned the Biden administration, calling it “a disaster for the United States and a disaster for its people, for the people of Latin America and especially Cuba, who seek freedom.” And again, this is a fitting farewell to this disastrous regime. ”
“I've said from the beginning of this administration never to listen to anything the Biden administration says,” Jimenez said. “Look at what they are doing. And this is the final act of monitoring their actions, who are only trying to help our enemies and destroy our friends.”
Cuba was first designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1982 and remained on the list until 2015, when former President Barack Obama removed the country from the list. President-elect Donald Trump reintroduced Cuba to the list in January 2021.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
