Jose Daniel Ferrer, the leader of one of the largest banned anti-government groups in Cuba, was released two days after a surprise flurry of diplomatic activity involving the communist-run island in the waning days of the Biden administration.

Pope Francis on Sunday hailed the release of Cuban prisoners as a “gesture of great hope” that he prayed would be undertaken elsewhere, as he welcomed an agreement the Vatican helped facilitate as part of a three-way dialogue with Washington and Havana that dates back to the Cuban missile crisis.

The Cuban government on Wednesday began the release of 553 prisoners it announced yesterday following Washington's decision to remove the island from its list of countries that sponsor terrorism, EFE confirmed.

Cuba has released prominent dissident José Daniel Ferrer from jail, as part of a Cuban government decision to gradually free more than 500 prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican

There is zero doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” he said.

President Biden will remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, U.S. officials announced on Tuesday, as a part of a deal that is expected to free protesters jailed during a sweeping 2021 crackdown on dissent by the Communist government.

In the hours after President Joe Biden lifted its status as a state sponsor of terrorism, Cuba began releasing some of its prisoners.

Less than a week before leaving the White House, President Joe Biden is lifting the state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, according to U.S. officials familiar with matter.

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

The Biden administration said on Tuesday it would remove Cuba from its terrorism blacklist, while Cuba said separately it would release upward of 500 prisoners from its jails, dual announcements poised to reshape U.