Many Countries in the Region Reject Cuba’s “State Sponsor of Terrorism” Listing
Washington, DC — In the last few weeks, many Latin American and Caribbean countries have issued strong statements opposing the Biden administration’s ongoing inclusion of Cuba on its State Sponsors of Terrorism list, a new post at the Center for Economic and Policy Research notes. Countries in the region are objecting to the designation as it significantly hardens sanctions on the island country, already under a US embargo, which studies show mostly harm the Cuban population and contributes to the current migration crisis. The post, by former Ecuadorian diplomat Guillaume Long, describes how Latin American and Caribbean countries including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Barbados, the 14 CARICOM members, and the 33 members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States have rejected as totally insufficient the Biden administration’s removal of Cuba from another, obscure list of countries that do not cooperate fully against terrorism.
If Blinken’s announcement was aimed at appeasing critics of its Cuba policies, it appears to have backfired, with several Latin American governments laying bare their frustrations with the slow pace of the administration’s promised reforms.
“It is clear that more than three years into the Biden administration, Trump’s extreme sanctions policies against Cuba have been kept in place, despite Biden’s promises of easing them when he was on the campaign trail in 2020,” Long said. “Latin American and Caribbean countries are disappointed that Biden has failed to return to the US opening with Cuba at the end of the Obama administration, and the Cuban people are suffering, leading to a new wave of migration.”
The full post is available here.
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