Just days before Donald Trump enters the White House, US President Joe Biden has removed Cuba from the list of countries that encourage terrorism. Joe Biden took the decision to encourage the upcoming release of several Cuban prisoners in a process mediated by the Vatican.

Cuba on Wednesday began releasing prisoners jailed following anti-government protests in 2021, making good on a deal agreed with the Biden administration this week. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday removed Cuba from a blacklist of nations that sponsor terrorism and rolled back a raft of sanctions implemented by Donald Trump during his first presidency that have contributed to the communist-run island's worst economic crisis in decades.

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.