Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez criticized this Friday for the lack of “credible” evidence from the US to justify the inclusion of his country on the black list of states sponsors of terrorism.
“The US is not able to show credible evidence to justify the inclusion of Cuba in the State Department’s unilateral list of states that supposedly sponsor terrorism,” the Cuban foreign minister wrote on Twitter.
Cuba entered that list in 1982 and in 2015 the then US President Barack Obama, as part of the “thaw” strategy between the two countries, removed it.
His successor, Donald Trump, put Cuba back on the list in 2020, a few days after leaving the White House. The current Joe Biden administration continues to review his predecessor’s decision.
Rodríguez considered in this regard that “cheap politicking and opportunism dictate US foreign policy positions.”
Cuba is also on the list of countries that “do not fully cooperate with Washington’s anti-terrorism efforts” due to the presence in the Caribbean country of members of the ELN guerrilla, who traveled to Havana in 2017 to begin peace negotiations now stalled. with the Colombian Government.
Cuba left both lists in 2015 during the phase of rapprochement promoted by Obama, which was later stopped by Trump, who during his term redoubled sanctions on Havana and stopped the “thaw.”
When he got to the White House, Biden promised to review policy toward Havana. But after the repression that followed the anti-government protests on the island on July 11, the White House announced sanctions against Cuban officials and members of the Police.
This Thursday, the acting coordinator of the US State Department for terrorism, John Godfrey, assured in a press conference that “the policy on Cuba and that designation remain under review.” EFE
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