December 11, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a press
conference at the State Department in Washington, DC.
AFP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday he was
placing Cuba back on a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, a
last-minute roadblock to expected efforts by President-elect Joe
Biden to ease tensions.
The terror designation severely hampers investment by foreigners
who will now risk US prosecution and can only be removed after a
formal review by the Biden administration, meaning it may be in
force for months.
With nine days left in office, President Donald Trump’s
administration pointed to Cuba’s ties with Colombian rebels and
Venezuela’s leftist government and its welcome to several US
fugitives.
swordpress.ng ojoojoo.com search: England Opens
Mass Vaccination Sites As COVID-19 Spike Fears Spread
“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 in a statement.
released courtesy of The Obama Foundation shows MBK (My Brother’s
Keeper) Alliance Virtual Town Hall with President Obama on
“Reimagining Policing in the Wake of Continued Police Violence”
live streamed on June 3, 2020. THE OBAMA FOUNDATION /
AFP
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Then-president Barack Obama in 2015 delisted Cuba as a state
sponsor of terrorism as he moved to normalize relations and
declared the half-century US effort to isolate the island to be a
failure.
Trump has reversed many of Obama’s overtures to Cuba and also
imposed sanctions on its leftist ally Venezuela, a stance that
helped win 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, Antony Blinken, Biden’s
nominee for secretary of state, would have to initiate a review
that shows that Havana did not engage in terrorism over the past
six months.
The move is the latest in a blitz of major decisions by Pompeo
in his final days in office, with most of Washington focused on
whether to remove Trump for inciting a deadly riot at the US
Capitol on January 6 of supporters who sought to stop the
ceremonial certification of Biden’s victory.
Since Saturday, Pompeo has also designated Yemen’s Huthi rebels
as a terrorist group, defying warnings from aid groups, and relaxed
rules on US engagement with Taiwan.
Only three other countries are on the blacklist — US nemeses
Iran, North Korea and Syria. Trump late last year removed Sudan
after its democratic transition, compensation for past attacks and
agreement to recognize Israel.
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2021/01/12/us-redesignating-cuba-as-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-pompeo/