Cuba’s Foreign Ministry highlighted the contradiction of keeping Havana on one list and removing it from the other, as well as the “confusion” caused by the US announcement
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 16 May 2024 — The Cuban Foreign Ministry demanded this Wednesday that the United States remove it from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism hours after the State Department removed the Island from another inventory, that of countries that “do not fully cooperate” with Washington in its fight against terrorism. The contradiction of keeping Havana on one list and removing it from the other, as well as the “confusion” that the announcement caused, was the subject of a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The text urges that the White House “correct this injustice,” and alleges that there is a “loud and repeated” demand from the Cuban people and also from “numerous governments, especially from Latin America and the Caribbean, and from political, social and religious organizations the United States, and politicians of that country.”
The Foreign Ministry said that “it is not enough to recognize that Cuba cooperates fully with the United States” in anti-terrorist matters because “it also does so with the international community as a whole” and “it is a known truth and no attempt should be made to confuse public opinion.”
He also stressed that the State Department maintains the Caribbean country on a list that designates “States that supposedly ’sponsor’ terrorism”, whose “sole purpose is to slander and serve as a pretext for the adoption of coercive economic measures against sovereign States,” like those that are mercilessly applied against Cuba.”
“The clear and absolute truth is that Cuba does not sponsor terrorism, but rather has been a victim of it”
“The clear and absolute truth is that Cuba does not sponsor terrorism, but has been a victim of it, including State terrorism, as anyone who is interested in the subject can confirm, and an issue that the US Government is perfectly aware of,” the statement says.
The Foreign Ministry insists that Joe Biden “has all the prerogatives to act honestly and do the right thing,” since this decision could be carried out exclusively by the president of the United States without having to depend on the support of the legislative chambers.
The State Department explained that the decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries that do not fully cooperate with counterterrorism efforts took into account that “the circumstances for Cuba’s certification have changed from 2022 to 2023.” The inclusion of Cuba in the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism in January 2021 was one of the last decisions made by the Administration of Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021) before leaving power.
However, after Biden’s arrival at the White House in January 2021, Cuba remained on the list, and the Cuban Government insists that it is unjustified and has serious financial implications for the Island, since it makes international transactions extremely difficult.
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