US rebrands Cuba as state sponsor of terrorism

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration returned Cuba to the US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, erecting a last-minute roadblock to expected efforts by President-elect Joe Biden to ease tensions.

The terror designation severely hampers foreign investment and can only be removed after a formal review by the incoming Biden administration and may remain in force for months.

With nine days left in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited Cuba’s ties with Colombian rebels, alliance with leftist Venezuela and sanctuary to several US fugitives in justifying the blacklisting.

“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,” Pompeo said in a statement, referring to former leaders Fidel and Raul Castro.

“The United States will continue to support the Cuban people in their desire for a democratic government and respect for human rights, including freedom of religion, expression and association,” he said.

Then-president Barack Obama in 2015 delisted Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as he moved to normalise relations and declared the half-century of US effort to isolate the communist island as a failure.

Trump has reversed many of Obama’s overtures to Cuba and also imposed sanctions on Venezuela, winning him support among immigrant communities in Florida, a crucial state in US elections.

Biden has indicated he wants to return at least to some engagement started under Obama and blocked by Trump, including allowing Cuban-Americans to visit family and send money.

To remove Cuba from the terror list, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state Antony Blinken would need to initiate a review that shows that Havana did not engage in terrorism over the previous six months.

The designation is the latest in a blitz of decisions by Pompeo in his final days in office. Pompeo has also designated Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, defying warnings from aid groups, and relaxed rules on US engagement with Taiwan.

Pompeo pointed to Cuba’s refusal to extradite commanders from Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) over a January 2019 car bombing at a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people. Cuba has said it will not hand them over due to its role mediating between the ELN and government.

Pompeo also pointed to Cuba’s sanctuary of Americans including Assata Shakur, a Black Power militant who fled to the island after escaping prison following a conviction over the killing of a New Jersey state trooper.

Only three other countries are on the blacklist – Iran, North Korea and Syria. Trump late last year removed Sudan after its democratic transition, compensation for past attacks and agreement to recognise Israel.