The Biden administration announced that it will remove Cuba from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism. The decision comes nearly after four years and reverses the designation given by Donald Trump’s administration to Cuba in 2021.
The White House in a press release ‘Certification of Rescission of Cuba’s Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism’ quoted US President Joe Biden as saying, “Pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and consistent with sections 1754(c) and 1768(c) of the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c) and 4826(c)), I hereby certify with respect to the rescission of the determination of January 12, 2021, regarding Cuba that the Government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and the Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
Cuba Accused Of Harboring Terrorists
Notably, on January 11, 2021, the US State Department designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. It declared Cuba of repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists.
The US Embassy in Cuba in a press release earlier said, “For decades, the Cuban government fed, housed, and provided medical care for murderers, bombmakers, and hijackers, while many Cubans go hungry, homeless, and without basic medicine. Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, travelled to Havana to conduct peace talks with the Colombian government in 2017. Citing peace negotiation protocols, Cuba refused Colombia’s requests to extradite ten ELN leaders living in Havana after the group claimed responsibility for the January 2019 bombing of a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people and injured more than 87 others.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Reacts
Following the latest announcement by Biden administration, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on X, “Cuba should have never been included in arbitrary list of State sponsors of terrorism. That was an arbitrary and politically motivated designation with very severe impact on the Cuban population, damaging economy, causing scarcities and encouraging migration to US.”
