Cuba Rejects Being Added To US List Of Terrorism-Sponsor States

On Wednesday, Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel criticized the inclusion of his country in the U.S. Department of State's list of "States sponsor of terrorism."

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"The U.S. government keeps our country on this spurious list to slander us and try to justify its illegal blockade against our people," Diaz-Canel pointed out.

Washington accusses Cuba of not responding to an extradition request issued by former Colombian President Ivan Duque’s administration against two leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) who participated in peace negotiations with the Colombian State in 2021.

Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Director for Latin America, Eugenio Martinez, forcibly rejected this accusation, explaining that the Colombian government suspended such a request.

"How far do the incompetence and evil intentions of the United States go?," Martinez stressed, welcoming that the ELN resumed peace talks with the Colombian state in Mexico. 

The U.S. State Department usually publishes lists of countries that sponsor terrorism after one year without a fixed periodicity. The 2021 report, however, was delayed for unknown reasons.

Washington first cataloged Cuba as a country that promotes terrorism in 1982. In 2015, during the diplomatic thaw fomented by former President Barack Obama (2009-2017), Cuba did not appear on the Department of State list. However, former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) included it again soon before ending his term.

"Even when the U.S. Department of State report refers to data from three years ago, its publication is shameful. Neither then nor now exists a single reason to classify Cuba as a country sponsor of terrorism," Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Director for the United States Johana Tablada said.