Staff Reports
President Biden has decided to treat the Cuban regime to a parting gift, delightfully timed to coincide with the conclusion of his term in office. Word has it that his administration plans to lift Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that some might find baffling given the island’s track record of supporting violence and oppression. This gracious gesture will be facilitated by the Catholic Church, which is apparently doubling as Cuba’s diplomatic backchannel in this bizarre narrative.
The White House buzzed with news that Biden’s administration aims to free numerous political prisoners as part of this initiative. “Many dozens” of wrongfully imprisoned individuals are reportedly expected to walk free in exchange for a significant reduction in economic pressure on the communist regime. Among the sacrifices offered to Cuba is the rescinding of a tough 2017 memorandum put in place by former President Trump, which gave the cold shoulder to the tyrants running the show in Havana. The reassessment is being touted as a fresh start, though what it really looks like is a nostalgic return to the days of rose-tinted diplomacy that characterized Obama’s presidency.
The Biden administration said it would remove Cuba from its terrorism blacklist, while Cuba said separately it would release upward of 500 prisoners, dual announcements poised to reshape US-Cuba relations just days before Donald Trump takes office https://t.co/xh0T6yApfE pic.twitter.com/mS1zP8y29O
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 15, 2025
There is a rich history behind this designation. It was only in January 2021 that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had Cuba labeled as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing its shoddy track record of harboring terrorists and refusal to extradite those responsible for heinous acts, including a bomb that claimed 22 lives. Yet, here we are, with Biden’s administration ready to hit the reset button on that reality. Apparently, an “assessment” deemed Cuba’s past actions unworthy of the current designation. How conveniently selective.
This course of action recalls the infamous “Cuban Thaw” from the Obama era, where bending over backwards to appease the Castro regime was all the rage. From normalizing relations to reopening embassies, the Obama administration was eager to cozy up to an oppressive government, much to the chagrin of conservatives who stressed the dangers of legitimizing a dictatorship. Senator Ted Cruz, a vocal critic of this diplomatic softening, called out Obama’s 2015 visit to Cuba as an act of betrayal that paved the way for the successive concessions that Biden now appears to be embracing with open arms.
In response to Biden’s latest maneuver, Cruz was quick to channel his inner prophet, warning that this move is simply another stamp on a long, depressing history of failed foreign policy. He likened Biden’s actions to those of his former boss, suggesting that the ongoing threats posed by the Cuban government haven’t just evaporated with the stroke of a pen. With President Trump set to take office soon, Cruz is rallying for a decisive action against what he deems a dangerous precedent, proving once again that the only thing flying higher than the political donations from the Left is the irony in their policy decisions.
