WASHINGTON/HAVANA: The US removed Cuba from a small list of countries the United States alleges are” not cooperating completely” in its fight against terrorism, a State Department official said on Wednesday.
The official cited Cuba’s recent resumption of US-led law enforcement cooperation as one of the reasons the earlier classification was deemed” no longer appropriate.”
The official said that the conditions for Cuba’s documentation as a” not entirely cooperating country” have changed from 2022 to 2023.
The Biden administration, which has largely maintained restrictions on the Communist-run island since Trump’s time, has made a sluggish if spiritually significant move in this regard.
According to the ministry official, the State Department’s record of State Donors of Terrorism is different from the list of State Donors of Terrorism, which the State Department is required to provide to the US Congress.
Just before he left office, former US President Donald Trump had previously designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, a shot that Cuba claims has caused the island’s severe economic crisis and food, gas, and medical shortages.
” This move by the Biden Administration could well be a precursor to the State Department reviewing Cuba’s title as a condition partner of terrorism”, William LeoGrande, a teacher at Washington’s American University, told Reuters.
The State Department official claimed that individual legal criteria govern the designation of state sponsors.
According to the official,” Any coming review of Cuba’s position would be based on the law and standards established by Congress.”
Bruno Rodriguez, the Caribbean foreign secretary, applauded the Biden administration’s decision on Wednesday, but claimed it did not go far enough.
Rodriguez wrote on X that” the US has only admitted what is known to all: that# Cuba completely cooperates with efforts against terrorism.”
” Our random and unjust participation on the list of nations sponsoring terrorism should end, and all political manipulation of the matter should close,” he added.
North Korea, Iran, Syria and Venezuela remain posted as no cooperating fully with US terrorism work, the official said.
