Havana/The decision of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to exclude Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, in exchange for releasing 553 prisoners on the Island, has generated a wave of condemnations from politicians and activists both inside and outside Cuba and, especially, in Florida.
One of the most critical was human rights activist Rosa María Payá, who pointed out in a message on Facebook that “there is no justification for removing the Cuban dictatorship from the list of sponsors of terrorism, not only because of its support for international terrorism and also in the Americas, but because every day that dictatorship exercises state terrorism against Cuban citizens.”
For the daughter of the late opposition leader Oswaldo Payá, “none of these measures really help the Cuban people get out of the crisis”; On the contrary, it benefits the Armed Forces. “By removing the sanction on the military, President Biden is deciding to finance repression in Cuba.”
“By removing the sanction on the military, President Biden is deciding to finance the repression in Cuba”
Later, in an interview for the NTN24 media and regarding the release of hundreds of prisoners – which Havana tried to dissociate from the White House announcement –, Payá regretted “the recurrent strategy of the Cuban regime of using the bodies of prisoners politicians as bargaining chips.”
The art historian Carolina Barrero expressed herself along those same lines. From his exile in Spain, he indicated on social networks that the Biden Administration “has fallen into the trap”: “It has dehumanized, again, the political prisoners, ignoring and trampling, in the first place, the cause of the struggle that they took them to prison, agreeing to see them as pieces, bargaining chips for the approval of a sinister regime.”
Likewise, he denounced that “the negotiation between the United States Government and the Havana regime, through the mediation of the Vatican, was carried out with its back to the democratic forces and Cuban civil society.”
Cuban-American congressmen in the United States joined the critical voices. In a joint message, María Elvira Salazar, Carlos Giménez and Mario Díaz-Balart said that the announcement “is a betrayal of the fight for freedom in Cuba and a danger to the national security of the United States.”
Biden gave “economic oxygen to the repressive apparatus of the Castro regime”
In the video broadcast on X, Salazar stated that Biden gave “economic oxygen to the repressive apparatus of the Castro regime. That’s what he does, he gives him a bucket of money so he can stay in power.”
Giménez, meanwhile, stressed that with the announcement “the interests of the Cuban people, who deserve freedom, are damaged, rejecting all those dreams.” Díaz-Balart, for his part, closed the message by pointing out that he hopes that with the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House the decision can be reversed. “This is a momentary thing, which hurts, but which President Trump will be able to crush and put the Biden Administration in the dustbin of history.”
Separately, in his X profile, Carlos Giménez added that Trump and the next US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will arrive “not only to put Cuba back on the list,” but “to pulverize the once and for all.”
Local politicians in the United States also criticized the White House measure. Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott called the decision “reckless and dangerous.” Likewise, he maintained that he will work with Donald Trump “from day one, to hold the communist regime accountable and free the Cuban people.”
There were also positions against it from the Democrats’ side. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava published a statement on
We must “continue to hold the Cuban regime accountable for its brutal repressions and violations of human rights”
In his position he added that “although the release of hundreds of Cuban political prisoners is good news, since they are tortured at the hands of the regime, we must now ensure that they quickly return and reunite with their families and loved ones.”
Among the measures adopted by the White House are also the suspension of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act and the elimination of a list of Cuban Government entities that cannot do business with the United States and includes ministries linked to security. , companies belonging to the Armed Forces, such as Gaesa or Cimex, and dozens of state hotels. In addition, the limitations to obtain an ESTA – the tourist entry card to the US – will no longer be in force for nationals of more than 40 countries who have been in Cuba since 2021.
