USA removes Cuba from terrorist list

Cuba stresses that the blockade remains in force

The Belly of the Beast Website reported on January 14, 2025, that the Biden administration has removed Cuba from the U.S. government’s list of countries that sponsor terrorism. It cited an administration official who stated that there is “no credible evidence at this time of ongoing support by Cuba of international terrorism.” The Website noted that there was no credible evidence for Cuba’s inclusion on the list four years ago, when the Trump administration placed Cuba on the spurious list.

The Belly of the Beast Website also reported that the Biden administration is suspending implementation of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which allows U.S. claimants whose property was nationalized by the Cuban government in the early 1960s to file suit against companies that do business that is related to a nationalized property. And it reported that the Biden administration will eliminate the list of Cuban entities that are off-limits to Cuban travelers who are legally traveling to Cuba.

The Belly of the Beast anticipates that the U.S. policy change will be short lived, noting that anti-Cuba hardliner Marco Rubio has been picked to be Secretary of State in the incoming Trump administration. But I would not be so quick to arrive to this conclusion.

The MAGA Movement has evolved considerably since Trump left the White House in 2020. It has arrived to a clearer formulation of a form of economic nationalism that avoids the imperialist overreach that led to the involvement of the nation in useless foreign entanglements and endless wars. From its economic nationalist perspective, it can be seen that the unconventional war against Cuba and Venezuela not only has no economic benefits to the United States, but it is also costly in terms of lost commerce, and it also has costs with respect to American prestige in the world. Normalization of relations with Cuba and Venezuela would be more consistent with the MAGA platform. Moreover, Rubio, in accepting the designation as Trump’s Secretary of State, invoked the recent MAGA slogan of “peace through strength,” and he did not engage in his habitual anti-Cuba talk. Indeed, Cuba and Venezuela have been off the radar as the Trump team prepares to take office.

Some have interpreted Trump’s recent statements with respect to Panama and Greenland as a signal of a hard line with respect to the region. We should, however, take into account that the issues at stake with respect to Panama and Greenland are different from the issues in regard to Cuba and Venezuela. With respect to Panama, the effect of Panama Canal fees on U.S. commerce is a legitimate concern. At the same time, the USA has economic and national security interests with respect to Greenland, which have not been defended by the U.S. foreign policy establishment. The USA has the right to defend its economic interests in its region of the world, and by now, we should understand that Trump’s rhetoric is a negotiating strategy, and it should not be taken as policy proposals.

It seems to me that the changes in the blockade now announced by the Biden Administration, if left to stand by Trump, would enable Cuba to proceed to more rapid recovery from the effects of the intensification of the U.S. blockade, implemented by Trump. Cuba is implementing a solid plan, intelligently conceived and involving the participation of the people. Some progress, although slight, is already evident. Moreover, in their various explanations with respect to the current economic crisis in Cuba, the Cuban President and Prime Minister have stressed the harsh impact of the inclusion of Cuba on the spurious list of nations that supposedly sponsor terrorism and of the implementation of Title III of Helms-Burton. These measures, they explain, have been chasing away banks, companies, shippers, and potential investors. Their elimination, if left to stand, could have important implications for Cuba.

On the other hand, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations stresses that the U.S. blockade remains in force, and it continues to include a number of measures that damage the Cuban economy. Furthermore, it denounces U.S. politicians for their lack of authenticity. The full text of the Cuban statement, issued by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations on January 14, 2025, follows.

On January 14, 2025, the government of the United States announced the following decisions. (1) Remove Cuba from the State Department list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism. (2) Make use of the presidential faculty to prevent U.S. courts from taking action with regards to lawsuits that might be filed by virtue of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. (3) Eliminate the list of Cuban entities with which U.S. citizens and institutions are not allowed to have financial transactions, which has had an impact on third countries.

Despite its limited scope, this is a decision that points in the right direction and is in line with the sustained and firm demand by the government and the people of Cuba, as well as the broad, emphatic and reiterated call by numerous governments, particularly those of Latin America and the Caribbean; Cubans residing abroad; and political, religious and social organizations and numerous political figures of the United States and other countries. The government of Cuba expresses its gratitude to all of them for their contribution and sensitivity.

This decision puts an end to specific coercive measures which, together with many others, seriously damage the Cuban economy and have a severe impact on the population. This is, and has been, an ever-present issue in all official exchanges between Cuba and the Government of the United States.

It is important to point out that the economic blockade, and a large part of the dozens of coercive measures entered into force since 2017 to further strengthen it, remain in force, with their full extraterritorial impact, in violation of International Law and the human rights of all Cubans.

The following are just a few examples. The illegal and aggressive persecution of the fuel supplies that Cuba is legally entitled to import continues. The cruel and absurd persecution of the legitimate international medical cooperation agreements that Cuba has signed with other countries is maintained, thus threatening to deprive millions of persons of health services and limiting the potential of Cuba’s public health system. The international financial transactions of Cuba or those of any national that might be linked to Cuba continue to be subject to prohibitions and reprisals. Merchant vessels touching Cuban ports continue to be under threats.

In addition, U.S. citizens, companies or subsidiaries of U.S. corporations are not allowed to trade with Cuba or Cuban entities, with very limited and regulated exceptions. Harassment, intimidation and threats against a national from any country intending to trade with Cuba or invest in this country continue to be part of the official policy of the United States. Cuba continues to be a destination banned for U.S. citizens by their government.

The economic warfare is still in place and persists in posing a major obstacle to the development and recovery of the Cuban economy, with a high human cost for the population; and continues to be an incentive for emigration.

The decision announced today by the United States, rectifies, in a very limited way, some aspects of a cruel and unjust policy. This is a rectification that is being introduced now, on the verge of a change of government, when it should have been materialized years ago, as an elemental act of justice, without asking for anything in return and without fabricating pretexts to justify inaction, if there were a true intention to act properly. The exclusion of Cuba from the arbitrary list of states sponsoring terrorism ought to be based in recognition of the truth, on the total absence of reasons for such designation, and on the exemplary performance of our country in combating terrorism, which has been recognized by several U.S. government agencies.

It is known that the government of that country could reverse in the future the measures that have been adopted today, as has already happened in the past, and as an expression of the lack of legitimacy, ethics, consistency and reason in its behavior towards Cuba.

U.S. politicians usually do not take time to find an honest justification, as long as the vision described in 1960 by the then Deputy Assistant Secretary, Lester Mallory, and his expressed intention to put Cubans on their knees by way of economic siege, misery, hunger and desperation, remain in force. They will not take time to find justifications as long as that government continues to be unable to recognize or accept Cuba’s right to self-determination, and as long as it remains ready to pay the political cost meant by the international isolation caused by its genocidal and illegal economic suffocation policy against Cuba.

Cuba will continue to face and condemn that economic warfare policy, the foreign interference programs and the disinformation and discrediting operations financed every year with tens of millions of dollars of the U.S. federal budget.

It will also continue to be ready to develop a respectful relation with that country, based on dialogue and non-interference in the internal affairs of both countries, despite the differences.

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