Cuba urges US to remove it from list of 'state sponsors of terrorism'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 May 2024 08:25

The calls come after the United States on Wednesday dropped its claims that Cuba is not cooperating on terrorism.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP)

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called the United States on Wednesday to remove it from the "list of state sponsors of terrorism" following Washington's decision to remove the Caribbean country from the short list of countries deemed "not cooperating fully" on counterterrorism.

"By confirming what is already widely known, that Cuba cooperates in the battle against terrorism, the United States should do what is correct and consistent – to remove Cuba from the State Department's arbitrary list and end the coercive economic measures that accompany it," Diaz-Canel said on X.

Al constatar lo ampliamente conocido, que Cuba coopera en la batalla contra el terrorismo, EEUU debería hacer lo correcto y coherente con esa posición: sacar a #Cuba de la lista arbitraria del Departamento de Estado y poner fin a medidas económicas coercitivas que lo acompañan.
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) May 15, 2024

The United States on Wednesday dropped its claims that Cuba is not cooperating on terrorism. In a report to Congress, Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Syria, and Venezuela – were "not cooperating fully" on counterterrorism.

"Moreover, the United States and Cuba resumed law enforcement cooperation in 2023, including on counterterrorism," a State Department spokesperson said.

"Therefore, the Department determined that Cuba's continued certification as a 'not fully cooperating country' was no longer appropriate."

Cuba's government has long cited US sanctions as the reason for the island's economic crisis. But despite the latest decision, Washington has kept Havana on the list.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the US report to Congress showed why his country should be removed from the "state sponsor list."

"The United States has just admitted what we all know – that Cuba is fully cooperating with forces against terrorism," he wrote on X.

"It ought to end all political manipulation of this issue and put an end to its arbitrary and unjust inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism."

But Blinken has previously promised US lawmakers that he will not move to remove Cuba from the "list of state sponsors of terrorism."

The US first added Cuba to the list in 1982 during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

The administration of President Barack Obama removed Cuba from the list in 2015 as part of efforts to normalize relations with the country. However, the island nation was re-added to the list during the Trump administration when the US accused Cuba of harboring American fugitives and Colombian rebels.