What Does Cuba’s Removal From the List of States Sponsoring Terrorism Imply?
Jose Cabañas. Photo: EFE
January 16, 2025 Hour: 2:10 pm
The removal does not eliminate risks for the Cuban people, as the measure is potentially reversible, CIPI Director warned.
During an interview with teleSUR, Jose Ramon Cabañas, director of the Center for International Policy Research (CIPI), warned that Cuba’s removal from the U.S. “State Sponsors of Terrorism List” should not be interpreted as a definitive change in U.S.-Cuba relations.
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“Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden made an appropriate but also limited and belated decision,” he said, referring to the limitations posed by U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba.
Cabañas emphasized that Cuba’s removal from the U.S. list does not eliminate risks for the Cuban people, as the measure is potentially reversible. The authorities who take office under the next president, Donald Trump, could reinstate Cuba on the list, as has happened in the past.
“Cuba is the only country that has entered and exited the list twice,” Cabañas said, noting that Iraq and Libya were removed from the list only after being subjected to military intervention. South Yemen was also removed from the blacklist because it ceased to exist as a state.
Nevertheless, the analyst highlighted that the announcement of Cuba’s removal from the U.S. list sparked a strong international response of support for the Cuban people. “Since yesterday, we have seen repeated applause for this decision, particularly from Latin America and the Caribbean,” Cabañas said, attributing this reaction to Cuba’s importance as a player on the international stage.
“Cuba is a small country in terms of geographic and economic size. However, it has organized two summits of the Non-Aligned Movement and has led G77 plus China conferences,” he recalled.
Cabañas also highlighted global recognition of Cuba’s pacifist role, noting that Cuban medical brigades were deployed to assist many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The analyst also mentioned the significance of the solidarity movement with Cuba within the United States in generating support against the U.S. blockade.
“Over 30 U.S. cities have passed resolutions calling for a new type of relationship with Cuba, especially in the area of health,” Cabañas said, underscoring the benefits that strengthened bilateral cooperation could offer both nations.
“Cuba was the first Latin American country to have a recognized academy of sciences,” Cabañas recalled and concluded by emphasizing the need to maintain a permanent solidarity movement to ensure that the progress made by Cuba’s removal from the U.S. blacklist is not reversed.
teleSUR/ JF Source: teleSUR
