Cuba Rejects Being in US List of Not-Collaborating Countries

On Tuesday, Cuba described as «mendacious accusations» the US decision to keep the island on its list of countries that do not «fully» cooperate against terrorism.

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Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez considered that Cuba’s permanence on that list is an «abominable crime that the U.S. has practiced without scruples and uses opportunistically as a tool of political coercion.»

Previously, the State Department included Cuba for the third consecutive year on its blacklist, along with Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. This decision implies that Washington cannot export or offer defense services or goods to these nations.

Cuba also appears on the U.S. list of countries sponsoring terrorism. This is so despite the fact that the United States and the Caribbean country have held bilateral meetings on cooperation to confront terrorist activities.

Cuba left the U.S. list in 2015 when both nations had a diplomatic rapprochement promoted by then President Barack Obama (2009-2017).

Shortly before leaving the White House in 2021, however, former President Donald Trump included Cuba on the State Department’s lists, citing the presence of members of the Colombian guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Havana, where they were beginning peace negotiations with the Colombian government.

Currently, President Joe Biden’s administration has not given any indication of having the intention of removing Cuba from that list, although it has relaxed some sanctions such as the elimination of the limit on sending remittances to Cuba.