Several US lawmakers have reacted for and against the Biden Administration’s decision to withdraw the Cuban regime from the list of states that do not fully cooperate with US counterterrorism efforts. For the presidents of two influential committees of the House of Representatives it is “delirious” and for a group of Democrats in favor of normalizing relations with Havana it is “welcome.”
On Monday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (Republican of Texas), and the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Mark Green (Republican of Tennessee), considered that “the Biden Administration’s decision to declare that the Cuban communist dictatorship, a legally established state sponsor of terrorism, complies with the United States’ counterterrorism efforts not only rewards a hostile regime, but also emboldens other adversaries.”
“Over the last year, Havana has been caught spying on our highest levels of government, hosting a Chinese spy facility in Cuba and sending its citizens to fight for Russia in Ukraine,” both politicians said in a joint press release. published on McCaul’s official website.
“Only a completely delusional administration would determine that such a brutal, un-American, and tyrannical regime is supporting America’s efforts to counter global terrorism.“, they said.
Besides, Openly anti-embargo Democratic congressmen “applauded” that Washington recognized the “cooperation” of the Cuban regime in the fight against terrorism.
“We welcome the Biden Administration’s decision to remove Cuba from a list of countries that do not cooperate in the fight against terrorism. This prior designation was counterproductive and useless,” they declared. Jim McGovern, Barbara Lee, Gregory Meeks and Joaquín Castro In a joint note published by the first
“The United States Government has been speaking directly with the Cuban Government about law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts, including in relation to extradition. While the United States has many problems with the Government of Cuba, these problems are best addressed through participation and dialogue, as we do with other countries in our hemisphere,” they noted.
The legislators said that they “will continue working with the Biden administration” to promote what they describe in the text as “policies designed to help the people of Cuba fully claim their human rights and build a prosperous and inclusive society“.
Despite the fact that last week it excluded it from its list of countries that do not fully cooperate in the fight against terrorism, andThe United States Department of State continues to consider the regime as a state sponsor of the terrorism.
Spokesman Vedant Patel said that “they can cooperate in the fight against terrorism, but they still believe that there are actions (by Havana) that support terrorist activities.”
When responding to a question on the subject during a regular press conference of the federal entity, Patel stated that “Inclusion on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism is a completely independent procedure from being recognized as a State that does not fully cooperate. “It happens that countries are recognized as not fully cooperating, but are not included in the list of sponsors of terrorism, and vice versa.”
Patel recalled the reasons for Cuba’s exclusion from the list, mentioned by a State Department official to DIARIO DE CUBA when announcing the decision: “The Department determined that the circumstances for the certification of Cuba as a ‘not fully cooperating country’ have changed from 2022 to 2023. Therefore, the Department did not certify Cuba as a ‘non-fully cooperating country’ for calendar year 2023, under Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act,” he said.
The certification of the Government of Cuba within that relationship of countries for the calendar year 2022 was based on “the refusal to collaborate with Colombia in the extradition requests of members of the National Liberation Army (ELN).” But “in August 2022, pursuant to an order from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s attorney general announced that arrest warrants against 17 ELN commanders would be suspended, including those whose extradition Colombia had previously requested from Cuba.”
Likewise, he added, “The United States and Cuba resumed police cooperation in 2023, including in the fight against terrorism. “Therefore, the Department determined that continuing to certify Cuba as a ‘not fully cooperating country’ was no longer appropriate.”
Patel recalled that “sales of military material to Cuba will continue to be restricted”and emphasized that any change in Havana’s status as a state sponsor of terrorism is subject to criteria that must be defined by the US Congress.
Havana had reacted to its departure from the list of countries that do not cooperate with Washington in the fight against terrorism by accusing the United States of manipulating the issue and once again demanding, as has been its reiterated position, its exclusion from the relationship of sponsoring states. of terrorism.
