Cuba praises US move to lift it from blacklist
Print Edition
Cuba hailed United States President Barack Obama’s move to drop it from a list of state sponsors of terror a landmark step in paving the way to restoring ties frozen for five decades.
Obama notified Congress on Tuesday of his “intent to rescind” Cuba’s inclusion on the blacklist, after a lengthy review launched late last year as Washington openly began a rapprochement with its Cold War foe.
US lawmakers now have 45 days to oppose the move. Otherwise, it will go ahead, removing a key hurdle to renewing US diplomatic relations with the communist authorities in Cuba.
“The government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period,” Obama wrote to justify his decision, after what administration officials called “a rigorous process” done with “every caution and every care.”
Cuba said it should never have been on the list.
The decision came just three days after Obama held a historic hour-long meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro on the sidelines of a weekend summit in Panama, the first face-to-face talks between the presidents of the two nations in half a century.
Cuba was added to the terror list in 1982, originally designated for its support for armed revolution in Latin America. Its removal would leave only Iran, Sudan and Syria on the list.
“Our hemisphere and the world look very different today than they did 33 years ago,” said Secretary of State John Kerry.
If it is struck from the list, Cuba will again have access to the US banking system, and other restrictions such as a ban on US assistance as well as arms exports and sales will be lifted.
Cubans overwhelmingly welcomed the decision.
“This is super-positive and a brave gesture by Obama, though Cuba never should have been on the list in the first place,” said 68-year-old retired actress Glice Farinas in Havana.
But officials cautioned other sanctions imposed under a US embargo will remain in place. Cuba has called for an end to the embargo’s stranglehold.
Talks continue on trying to re-establish diplomatic ties, which would allow for a reopening of embassies in each country, with Kerry eager to make a historic trip to the Caribbean island to reopen the US mission there.
No date has been set for new talks yet, and after three rounds of negotiations, officials cautioned there “may be a little more confidence building needed, but we’ll get there.”
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