WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration re-designated Cuba on Monday as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” hitting the country with new sanctions that could hamper President-elect Joe Biden’s promise to renew relations with the communist-ruled island.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move, citing in particular Cuba’s continued sheltering of American refugees, its refusal to extradite a group of Colombian guerrilla commanders, and support for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The appointment, which has been debated for years, is one of several last-minute foreign policy moves the Trump administration is making before Biden takes office on January 20th.
Removing Cuba from the blacklist was one of the main achievements of former President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, as he sought better relations with the island, an effort backed by Biden as its vice president. Ties had been essentially frozen after Fidel Castro took power in 1959.
As he did with Iran, Trump tried to reverse many of Obama’s decisions regarding Cuba. He took a hard line on Havana and lifted many of the sanctions the Obama administration eased or lifted after full diplomatic relations were restored in 2015.
Since Trump took office, after a campaign that attacked Obama’s efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, ties have become increasingly strained.
In addition to attacking Cuba for its support of Maduro, the Trump administration has also suggested that Cuba may have been behind or allowed alleged sound attacks that have left dozens of U.S. diplomats in Havana with brain injuries since the end of the year. 2016.
However, few US allies believe that Cuba remains a sponsor of international terrorism, discussing either the definition based on support for Maduro or the direct rejection of US claims that the Cuban authorities are investing in or planning international terrorist attacks.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez condemned the US action. “US political opportunism is recognized by those who are sincerely concerned about the scourge of terrorism and its victims,” he said on Twitter.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Trump’s appointment will not help the Cuban people and is only seeking to shake hands with the Biden administration.
“This designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism less than a week after the presidency and after inciting an internal terrorist attack on the US capital … this is hypocrisy,” Meeks said in an interview with The Associated Press.
However, encouraged by Cuban-American and Venezuelan exiles in South Florida, the Trump administration has steadily increased restrictions on flights, trade, and financial transactions between the United States and the island.
The latest sanctions have placed Cuba along with North Korea, Syria and Iran as the only foreign nations considered state sponsors of terrorism. As a result of Monday’s actions, most US travel to Cuba will be banned, as well as sending remittances to Cuba from relatives in the United States, a significant source of income for the impoverished island.
However, given that dollar-generating businesses are already moving away from the effects of coronavirus and previous measures, such as Trump’s ban on cruise ships and capping remittances, the biggest impact is likely to be diplomatic.
“This will really slow down any thaw in relations with the Biden administration,” said Emilio Morales, an exiled Cuban economist and chairman of Havana Consulting Group in Miami.
Morales said the measure would take at least a year to unravel and require careful study by the US government. He is also doubtful whether Biden, who did not play a significant role in opening the Obama administration to Cuba, would be willing to invest the kind of political capital that Obama made and throw a lifeline at the Cuban leadership with nothing in store. change.
Obama’s removal of Cuba from the list of “state sponsors of terrorism” has been a major target of Trump, Pompeo and other Cuban falcons in the current administration.
Cuba has repeatedly refused to hand over American fugitives who have been granted asylum, including a black militant convicted of killing a New Jersey soldier in the 1970s. In addition to political refugee status, US fugitives have received free housing, medical care and other benefits thanks to the Cuban government, which insists the US has no “legal or moral basis” to demand their return.
But perhaps the biggest change since Obama’s expansion in 2015 is Cuba’s strong support for Maduro, who is seen by a dictator whose robbery of the oil-based economy has driven 5 million Venezuelans out of their homes.
Cuba has had a long-standing alliance with Maduro, although it has long denied that it has 20,000 soldiers and intelligence agents in Venezuela and says it has not carried out any security operations. However, Cuban officials have stated that they have the right to conduct military and intelligence cooperation as they see fit.
The relationship between the two countries has grown strongly in the last two decades, with Venezuela sending billions of dollars to Cuba and receiving tens of thousands of employees, including health workers.
In May 2020, the State Department added Cuba to a list of countries that do not cooperate with US counterterrorism programs.
In making that decision, the department said several leaders of the National Liberation Army, a Colombian rebel group designated a terrorist organization, remained on the island, despite Colombia’s repeated request to be extradited to respond to a car bombing. Bogota police academies since 2019 that killed 22 people.
Cuba has rejected such demands, saying the surrender of leaders would violate protocols agreed by the Colombian government for peace efforts that were halted after the deadly bombing.
In rejecting the allegations, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cuba had been a victim of terrorism. He cited an armed attack on his embassy in Washington in April last year as an example. Cubans believe the blacklist helps the US justify the long-term embargo on the island and other economic sanctions that have paralyzed its economy.
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Associated Press diplomatic writer Matthew Lee reported the story in Washington, and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported from Miami. AP writer Andrea Rodriguez of Havana contributed to this report.