The U.S. State Department has once again included Cuba on its unilaterally compiled list of countries that, according to Washington, “do not fully cooperate with counterterrorism efforts.” The measure by the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, reverses a decision by the Joe Biden administration, which had removed the island from the list last year.
On that occasion, after consultations with specialized agencies of the U.S. government itself, it was concluded that there was no evidence to support the claim that Cuba did not collaborate in the fight against terrorism.
The U.S. State Department has no international mandate to compile this list, which is produced annually and presented to the U.S. Congress. The Arms Export Control Act prohibits arms sales to countries included on it.
Although including or excluding Cuba from this list has no immediate effect—since the island has not maintained military relations with the United States nor acquired weapons from the country since the Cuban Revolution—its presence on the document serves as a pretext for Washington to justify imposing sanctions on the Caribbean nation.
Although related, this is a separate list from that of “state sponsors of terrorism,” a classification used directly by Washington to apply sanctions.
Maximum Pressure and Economic War
The Cuban government criticized the decision. In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Cuba’s inclusion “is not based on concrete evidence.” It accused Washington of “once again turning the fight against international terrorism into a unilateral political exercise against countries that do not submit to its hegemonic interests.”
Havana considers the measure part of the “maximum pressure and economic war” strategy maintained by the United States against Cuba.
“Its promoters are fully aware of the damage they cause to the Cuban population and the intimidating effect they exert on any state linked to terrorism—regardless of the truth of the facts,” the statement concludes.
Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío, in turn, directly blamed the United States.
“It is the United States that refuses to cooperate with Cuba and other countries in the fight against terrorism—which is understandable, given the well-documented history of complicity and participation by U.S. government agencies in terrorist actions.”
Unilateral Measures Without International Support
In November 2024, the UN General Assembly approved, for the 32nd consecutive year, a resolution demanding an end to the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba. The measure was approved by a wide majority: 187 countries voted in favor of Cuba’s proposal, with only one abstention (Moldova) and the usual two votes against—the United States and Israel.
During the debate, independent experts from the UN human rights system presented a report highlighting the need for the U.S. to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. They stated that it is an urgent measure, especially given the current economic and humanitarian challenges faced by the Caribbean country.
By designating Cuba as an alleged “state sponsor of terrorism”—a decision taken in 2021 during Donald Trump’s first administration—Washington deepened the restrictions imposed on the island, which has been under a blockade established by the United States for 63 years.
According to calculations presented to the UN, from March 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024, the blockade caused an estimated loss of US$5.5 billion (R$31 billion), representing a loss of more than US$421 million (R$2.4 billion).
Source: www.brasildefato.com