Biden’s really done it this time. He’s gone on a rampage right before he’s set to leave office.
And this terrorist group has been strengthened thanks to this catastrophic move by Joe Biden.
Outgoing President Joe Biden removed Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism on Tuesday, a decision announced less than a week before he leaves office. The move has drawn sharp criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, many of whom argue that stringent sanctions on the Communist-led island should remain in place.
Biden made the decision in response to the Catholic Church’s ongoing discussions with Cuban authorities about the release of political prisoners, according to the White House.
“We view this as an opportune moment to do so, given the important dialogue that is taking place between Cuba and the Catholic Church with respect to political prisoners,” an administration official said. “We believe that the number of people to be released will be significant.”
The official also stated that the administration determined Cuba had not supported international terrorism in the previous six months, a statutory requirement for removing the designation.
The decision has prompted strong reactions. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a Cuban-American and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, could reinstate the designation after taking office.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the move by Biden as “unacceptable on its merits.”
“The terrorism advanced by the Cuban regime has not ceased,” Cruz said. “I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage from the decision.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried also denounced the decision, releasing a statement that read: “We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba’s removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately.”
“While any return of political prisoners from the clutches of Communist Cuba is cause for celebration, the regime’s treatment of the Cuban people continues to be one of the biggest human rights violations of the last century,” Fried added. “It would be naive to think this negotiated exchange signals a change in treatment for the Cuban people.”
South Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez tweeted his anger at Biden, calling him a “pathetic coward.” He promised a swift reversal, adding, “Come January 20th, there will be a NEW SHERIFF in town & President Trump alongside Secretary of State [Rubio] will not only put #Cuba BACK on the list but PULVERIZE the regime once & for all!”
🚨President Biden is a pathetic coward.
Come January 20th, there will be a NEW SHERIFF in town & President Trump alongside Secretary of State @SenMarcoRubio will not only put #Cuba BACK on the list but PULVERIZE the regime once & for all!https://t.co/BvbO4ARj9C
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) January 14, 2025
Other critics included Staten Island GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who wrote: “Bad move! President Trump must reverse immediately upon taking office! Why does President Biden insist on rewarding bad actors, those who support our adversaries, and those who oppress, terrorize & m*rder their own people?”
The terrorism designation was reinstated nearly four years ago by outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the final days of Trump’s first term. Pompeo cited Cuba’s status as a refuge for violent criminals and revolutionaries.
“For decades, the Cuban government has fed, housed, and provided medical care for m*rderers, bombmakers, and hijackers, while many Cubans go hungry, homeless, and without basic medicine,” the State Department said during that time.
The department highlighted Cuba’s harboring of members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, who had traveled to Havana for peace talks in 2017. After the ELN claimed responsibility for a 2019 bombing in Bogota that k*lled 22 people, Cuba refused Colombia’s requests to extradite its leaders.
Cuba has also long provided sanctuary to U.S. fugitives, including Joanne Chesimard, wanted for the 1973 k*lling of a New Jersey State Trooper, and Ishmael LaBeet, who was convicted of k*lling eight people in 1972 in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It remains unclear how Tuesday’s decision by Biden will affect Cuba’s economy. Currently, three other countries are on the state sponsors of terrorism list. Those countries are: Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
