Cuba on Wednesday began releasing prisoners under a deal with departing US President Joe Biden to remove the communist island from a list of terror sponsors, the detainees' relatives told AFP.

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday it will remove Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list – a move taken in the twilight of the administration that is likely to reversed by the incoming team.

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

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

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 a last-minute decision driven by the White House, the State Department on Tuesday removed Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, despite earlier assurances that it would not do so,

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.

After years of debate, the Biden administration has notified Congress that it will remove Cuba from the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism, a label given the island nation in the last days of the previous Trump presidency.