The Cuban government was “angry” to continue …

The Cuban government declared itself “astonished” and “upset” by the US State Department’s decision to keep the island on the list of countries that do not cooperate with Washington’s efforts to combat terrorism.. Cuba was again included in the list of “state sponsors of terrorism” in January of this year by former President Donald Trump.. Although it was expected on the island that the arrival of Democrat Joe Biden to power would ease bilateral tensions and promote a new rapprochement, The White House has previously said twice that changing policy towards Cuba is not a priority on its agenda. Entering a country on the terrorism blacklist means obstacles to trade and more sanctions, although all of these restrictions are already weighing on Cuba because of the blockade..

“The Biden government keeps Cuba on the list of countries that do not cooperate in the fight against terrorism,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on Twitter, adding: “The slander and implementation of Trump’s policy and blocking measures 243 is surprising and outrageous.”.

In an official correspondence in the Federal Register of the United States, Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken has placed Cuba, along with Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela, on his list of countries that “do not cooperate” at all in “counterterrorism efforts” with Washington.. These countries do not have access to licenses to export defense materials and services, and are also notified to the international community due to their lack of cooperation with the United States.

Havana was included on this list in May 2020 by the then President’s administration Donald Trump (2017-2021), which is also in January of this year Cuba is back on the list of countries sponsoring terrorismIt is one of the last decisions taken by the Republican president in power. The United States justified the decision by citing the presence of members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) on the island., Who traveled to Havana (where they are still) in 2017 to start the now-stalled peace negotiations with the Colombian government.

The President of Colombia, Ivan Duque, has repeatedly asked Cuba to hand over the members of the negotiating delegation, which Cuba rejects, arguing that it violates the principles of international law on which the peace dialogue protocols are based.

The island was removed from the list in 2015, during the rapprochement stage promoted by then-US President Barack Obama (2009-2017) It was stopped by Trump, who doubled the sanctions on Havana and stopped the “thaw”, pushing the already ailing Cuban economy to the brink of the abyss. During his tenure, Trump sanctioned transportation, tourism, and remittances, and banned businesses with a vast “blacklist” of companies linked to the Cuban military.Consular services were paralyzed after mysterious health problems suffered by US diplomats and invited Cuba, and they returned Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The return of the Caribbean nation to the list, now ratified by a democratic government, has generated such international rejectionism United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Who is the He said he trusted President Joe Biden to cancel the measure. Likewise, this Tuesday English non-governmental organization Oxfam He recommended that Biden take measures to normalize relations with Cuba.

Oxfam representative on the island, Elena GentileReporters that Biden can reverse Trump’s actions and “work with Congress to reach the ultimate lifting of the blockade.”. Gentili added that Oxfam has spoken out since 2016 against “that policy that limits the full enjoyment of Cuban rights,” referring to An economic ban in effect since 1962 and codified in the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

During his campaign, Biden promised to abolish the nearly 250 penalties Trump imposed on Cuba, but that has not yet happened. According to the calculations of the Cuban government And the effects of this siege last year recorded 5.5 billion dollars.