EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 24 March 2023 — The Government of Cuba affirmed on Thursday that the United States never intended to remove the Island from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism because it “is convenient.”
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez declared on Twitter that the North American country has no plans to “correct Cuba’s unfair classification” since “it is convenient for its criminal policy of economic suffocation.”
Rodríguez echoed the statements this Thursday by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in which he said: “We are not planning” to remove the Island from the list.
During an appearance before the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives, Blinken said “if there is a review, it will be based on the law and the benchmarks it establishes, which, as I said, have a very high bar.”
The Cuban head of Foreign Affairs stated that Blinken “confirms, in fact, that the State Department’s qualifying lists are nothing more than tools of political and economic coercion, totally divorced from such sensitive issues as terrorism, religion, human rights, drug trafficking, corruption and other things.”
The inclusion of Cuba on the list in January 2021 was one of the last decisions made by the Trump administration before leaving office.
The United States then justified the measure, which entails several sanctions, alluding to the presence on the Island of members of the Colombian ELN guerrillas, who traveled to Havana to start peace negotiations with the Colombian government.
The Island was taken off the list in 2015, during the rapprochement promoted by US President Barack Obama. It was put back on by Trump, who during his term redoubled the sanctions against Cuba and paralyzed much of the “thaw” stimulated by his predecessor.
The current Biden Administration has made some gestures towards the Island, such as the elimination of the remittance limit for Cuba, but it is still far from Obama’s rapprochement.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
