Cuba on terror list

WH voids Bam plan

The Trump administration on Monday announced it was returning Cuba to the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that could complicate any efforts by the incoming Biden administration to revive the Obama-era détente with Havana.

Just days before President Trump leaves office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Cuba was being listed for “repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism” by harboring US fugitives and Colombian rebel leaders.

Pompeo also cited Communist-ruled Cuba’s security support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which he said had allowed the socialist leader to maintain his grip on power and create “a permissive environment for international terrorists to live and thrive within Venezuela.”

“With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: The Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of US justice,” Pompeo said in a statement.

Returning Cuba to the list is a further rollback of the détente that former President Barack Obama orchestrated with the onetime Cold War foe. Obama’s decision to remove Cuba from the terrorism list in 2015 was an important step toward restoring diplomatic ties that year.

The new decision followed months of legal review, with some administration experts questioning whether it was justified, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It would require further lengthy legal deliberations for President-elect Joe Biden to reverse the designation.

Trump has clamped down on Cuba since entering the White House in 2017, tightening restrictions on US travel and remittances to Cuba, and imposing sanctions on shipments of Venezuelan oil to the island.