The United States ruled out this Tuesday removing Cuba from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism despite having held a meeting with the Government in Havana on cooperation to confront terrorist activities.
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“These conversations occur on a regular basis. We still do not have a change in policy regarding the presence of Cuba on the list“, said the deputy spokesman of the Department of State, Vedant Patel, in a press conference.
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Patel justified that Washington and Havana have to carry out “important cooperation tasks” because they share maritime borders, and assured that security talks with the island are held from time to time.
However, he insisted that “The regime has a long history of repression against civil society and other factors that keep it on the list” of a promoter of terrorism.
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The talks in question took place last Thursday and Friday in Havana, where representatives of both governments had a technical exchange on cooperation to combat terrorism.
They dealt with the hijacking of aircraft and maritime vessels, as well as the use of digital networks for violent purposes, according to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior.
The inclusion of Cuba on the list of sponsors of terrorism in January 2021 was one of the last decisions made by the Government of Donald Trump (2017-2021) before leaving power.
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The United States then justified the measure, which entails various sanctions, alluding to the presence on the island of members of the Colombian guerilla Elnwho traveled to Havana to start peace negotiations with the Colombian Executive.
The island had been removed from the list in 2015, during the rapprochement stage promoted by then US President Barack Obama (2009-2017) and stopped by Trump, who during his tenure redoubled sanctions on Havana and stopped the “thaw”.
The current Joe Biden Administration has made some gestures towards the island, such as eliminating the limit on remittances to Cuba, but it is still far from Obama’s approach.
EFE
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