Observers say a move in the final days of the Donald Trump administration will disrupt Joe Biden’s foreign policy plans.
The United States has named Cuba a “terrorist state supporter”, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced, the latest move in recent days of the Trump administration that observers say will contribute to policy plans foreign President Joe Biden.
In a statement Monday, Pompeo said the U.S. was planning Cuba “to reaffirm its support for international terrorist activities in providing a safe haven for terrorists”.
He also accused Cuba of saying “malignant intervention in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere”.
“With this action, we will hold the Cuban government to account again and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and the conversion of U.S. justice,” Pompeo said.
Biden, which is due to be established on Jan. 20, plans to move Washington closer to normal relations with Havana, Bloomberg reported earlier this month – including travel discounts, investment and money away.
Biden was vice president by then – President Barack Obama when the U.S. and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in 2015.
Earlier in the same year, Obama had removed Cuba from the U.S. list of “terrorist state supporters” – a key step in the countries’ ability to formally forge ties.
But the administration of President Donald Trump has put pressure on the Cuban government and various industries in the country.
The US recently added a Cuban bank to its list of restricted entities, claiming that the financial institution had links to Cuban military and their profits helped fund the country’s “intervention” in Venezuela.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected the U.S. designation of a “terrorist state aide” on Monday, calling the move “hypocritical and sinical.”
We criticize the US for its hypocritical and sinical naming #Cuba as a State supporting terrorism.
The political opportunities of the US are recognized by those who are honestly concerned about the tragedy of terrorism and the victims.
– Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) January 11, 2021
“The political opportunities of the United States are recognized by those who are honestly concerned about the terrorist attacks and the victims,” he tweeted.
Ben Rhodes, Obama’s former deputy national security adviser, described Pompeo’s announcement as “political waste meant tying the hands of an administration that will bring power in ten days”.
“Cuba is not a state supporter of terrorism,” Rhodes tweeted.
In practice, the Cuban designation “punishes persons and countries engaged in certain trade with Cuba”, Pompeo said in the statement.
The move also “restricts US foreign aid, bans defense exports and sales, and imposes special controls on exports of dual-use products”.
This is such a political waste which means tying the hands of an administration that will bring power in ten days. Cuba is not a state supporter of terrorism. Ordinary Cubans suffer until Pompeo looks sad for a few people in Miami. https://t.co/YvkUDxbFmd
– Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 11, 2021