Pope Francis has hailed the release of Cuban prisoners as a “gesture of great hope” that he prays will be undertaken elsewhere. The Cuban government said this week that it
Pope Francis expressed the hope that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19, “would be respected immediately by all the parties [involved]” and would lead to “the release of all the hostages” and the rapid provision of urgently needed humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza.
The deal, which comes less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, also includes rolling back a 2017 memorandum issued during his first term.
Cuba on January 15 began releasing prisoners under a deal with outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration to remove the communist island from a list of terror sponsors, but Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio signalled the policy shift would be short-lived.
The Trump administration added Cuba to the state sponsor of terror list days before the Republican left office in 2021 and it has remained there throughout the Biden administration. Just three other countries, Syria, Iran and North Korea, are currently on the State Department list.
President Joe Biden is planning to lift Cuba's designation as a "state sponsor of terrorism" in the final days of his administration.
The move is likely to be reversed by the incoming Trump administration, as it was Trump who first put Cuba on the terrorism blacklist in his first term
There is zero doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said.
Angelus address with pilgrims in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for the Gaza
To the extent that the dictatorship must be condemned…we must look for mechanisms that can help alleviate hunger.”
The Vatican’s secretary of state called the gradual release of 553 prisoners in Cuba “a sign of great hope” at the beginning of the Jubilee Year.