Washington DC [US], January 15 : The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it will remove Cuba from the US state sponsor of terrorism list, reversing a designation made by Donald Trump's administration in 2021.
The White House in a press release 'Certification of Rescission of Cuba's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism' quoted US President Joe Biden as saying, "Pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and consistent with sections 1754(c) and 1768(c) of the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c) and 4826(c)), I hereby certify with respect to the rescission of the determination of January 12, 2021, regarding Cuba that the Government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and the Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future."
On January 11, 2021, the US State Department designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists.
The US Embassy in Cuba in a press release had said, "The Trump administration has been focused from the start on denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. With this action, we will once again hold Cuba's government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of US justice."
It added, "For decades, the Cuban government fed, housed, and provided medical care for murderers, bombmakers, and hijackers, while many Cubans go hungry, homeless, and without basic medicine. Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, travelled to Havana to conduct peace talks with the Colombian government in 2017. Citing peace negotiation protocols, Cuba refused Colombia's requests to extradite ten ELN leaders living in Havana after the group claimed responsibility for the January 2019 bombing of a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people and injured more than 87 others."
Following the decision, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez had condemned the country's inclusion in a US list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Cuba condemned the US-announced "hypocritical and cynical designation" of the country as "a state sponsoring terrorism," the minister had said on X.
"The US political opportunism is recognized by those who are honestly concerned about the scourge of terrorism and its victims," he added.
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