Biden revokes Trump-era NSPM-5 and directs agencies to unwind Cuba restrictions

President Joe Biden issued National Security Memorandum 29 on January 14, 2025, revoking National Security Presidential Memorandum 5, the Trump-era Cuba policy memorandum. Biden said U.S. policy still sought more freedom, democracy, human rights, and free enterprise in Cuba, but that practical engagement with Cuba and the Cuban people required moving beyond NSPM-5. The memorandum directed the secretary of state to rescind the list created under NSPM-5 and directed Treasury to begin adjusting regulations tied to that revocation. The action mattered because NSPM-5 had shaped U.S. Cuba sanctions and travel/commercial restrictions, and revoking it was part of Biden's final effort to loosen Cuba policy alongside the proposed rescission of Cuba's state sponsor of terrorism designation.