The Biden administration has announced plans to remove Cuba from the United States' list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation reinstated in 2021 under the Trump administration. In a press release titled "Certification of Rescission of Cuba's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism," President Joe Biden stated that the decision follows U.S. laws and criteria, asserting that Cuba has not supported international terrorism in the last six months and has provided assurances it will not do so in the future.

Cuba was added back to the list on January 11, 2021, with the U.S. State Department citing repeated support for international terrorism, including providing safe harbor to terrorists. The Trump administration justified the designation by accusing the Cuban government of feeding, housing, and offering medical care to individuals such as bombmakers and hijackers, even as many Cubans faced food shortages and lacked basic medicine. The U.S. also pointed to Cuba’s refusal to extradite members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, who had traveled to Havana for peace talks in 2017 but were later linked to the 2019 bombing of a police academy in Bogotá, Colombia, which killed 22 people and injured more than 87.

The Cuban government strongly opposed its designation as a sponsor of terrorism. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the move as hypocritical and politically motivated, calling it a cynical attempt to use terrorism as a political tool. Rodríguez highlighted the opposition to this designation by those genuinely concerned about terrorism and its victims.

The initial reinstatement of Cuba on the terrorism list was part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to pressure the Cuban government and limit its influence in the Western Hemisphere, particularly regarding its support for Venezuela. The U.S. Embassy in Cuba at the time described the designation as a measure to hold the Cuban government accountable for its actions.

With the Biden administration’s announcement, Cuba’s removal from the list marks a significant policy reversal, aiming to reshape U.S.-Cuba relations and addressing the longstanding tensions between the two nations.

Source: ANI