The government of Cuba described this Tuesday (23) as “lying accusations” the decision of the United States to keep the island on its list of countries that do not collaborate “fully” in the fight against terrorism.
The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, considered on Twitter that the permanence of his country is an “abominable crime that the United States committed without scruples and that it uses with opportunism as a tool of political coercion”.
The US State Department has kept Cuba on the list for the third consecutive year, along with Syria, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.
Being on this list prevents Washington from being able to export or offer services or defense items to these nations.
Cuba is also on the US list of countries that sponsor terrorism and the government has indicated that it is ruling out withdrawing the island, despite having held a meeting with Cuban authorities in Havana on cooperation to tackle terrorist activities.
The inclusion of Cuba in the list of sponsors of terrorism in January 2021 was one of the last decisions taken by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) before leaving power.
The US then justified the measure, which entails several sanctions, alluding to the presence on the island of members of the Colombian guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN), who traveled to Havana to start peace negotiations with the Colombian government.
The island had been removed from the list in 2015, during the rapprochement stage promoted by then US President Barack Obama (2009-2017), and barred by Trump, who during his term redoubled sanctions on Havana.
The current government has made some gestures towards the island, such as eliminating the limit on remittances to Cuba, but it is still far from the rapprochement promoted by Obama.
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