Trump to Place Cuba Back on List of State Sponsors of Terrorism

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday will place Cuba back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

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The decision, which would reverse an Obama-era resolution, was given by two U.S. State Department officials who asked not to be identified. They assured President-elect Joe Biden won’t be able to revive diplomatic ties with Havana soon.

The U.S. list also includes Syria, Iran, and North Korea. The decision is popular among Cuban-U.S. citizens and anti-Communist Latino voters in Florida, a state Trump won in the November 3 elections.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is expected to address the people to inform Cuba's reinsertion as a sponsor of terrorism.

According to the anonymous officials, Pompeo believes Cuba protects U.S. fugitives, including Joanne Chesimard, convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.

Allegedly, Cuba also rejects Colombian President Ivan Duque's request to extradite National Liberation Army (ELN) members linked to a bombing that killed 22 people in 2019.

Cuba was designated as a sponsor of terrorism in 1982. Thirty-three years later, then-president Barack Obama removed the country from the list as he aimed to restore diplomatic relations between both states.

Biden plans to restore the Obama-era policies towards the Island. He is hoping to reduce restrictions on travel, investment, and remittances. 

“It remains to be seen if Biden could revoke Trump's measures. They are perceived to disproportionately hurt U.S. citizens and ordinary Cubans," journalists Nick Wadhams and David Wainer reported.

"The attempts to place Cuba back on the list are hypocritical and prove U.S. double standards on terrorism matters," the International Studies professor of the University of San Francisco, Reese Erlich, assured.