Cuba no longer belongs on terror list

The naysayers have been all over President Obama for his decision to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

We can understand the emotion involved for CubanAmerican members of Congress, including Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, and Reps. Ileana RosLehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami. They and their families know firsthand the suffering the Cuban people have faced for years, and any attempt to legitimize Cuba or normalize relations with its leaders does not sit well with them.

That said, removing Cuba from the list of terrorist nations was the right move. Times have changed since 1982, when Cuba was originally put on the list. And change is taking place even more rapidly now, starting with the recent release of certain political prisoners.

After more than five decades of alienation, this week’s move was an important step toward restoring relations between the two countries, a process announced in December.

The delisting, which should become official within 45 days unless Congress tries to block it, will allow American banks to establish relations with Cuban banks. It will allow scholars more access for research. It will allow Cuba to receive more international economic assistance. It will make it easier to process visas for those who wish to travel to Cuba. It will open the doors for trade.

It will certainly be a bigger symbolic move than last week’s handshake between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. And it could be another step toward ending the decades-old embargo, which has become an ineffectual relic of the Cold War.

According to the U.S. State Department, Cuba has never provided weapons or training for any terrorist group. Cuba’s human rights violations have been welldocumented, but to call it a sponsor of terrorism no longer makes sense when countries like North Korea are not on the list.

Yes, our island neighbor still harbors American fugitives, although Obama said this week that Cuba has agreed to address the cases of fugitives from the U.S. A Republican-led bill introduced in the U.S. House on Wednesday requires all sanctions to remain until Cuba returns those fugitives.

Among the fugitives is Joanne Chesimard, a member of the Black Panther Party who has lived in Cuba since fleeing after her 1977 conviction for killing of a New Jersey state trooper. She should be returned to the United States. Also, Obama should be sure to close the pipeline of crime committed by Cuban immigrants in South Florida, who then flee to Cuba to escape justice, as detailed in a recent Sun Sentinel investigative series.

But resolving Chesimard’s 38-year-old case shouldn’t hold up a long overdue thawing of relations between the two countries.

Cuba is not going to become an open, tropical paradise for American tourists overnight. There are many problems to work out. But that shouldn’t halt the progress in relations between the two countries that is just starting.

The delisting, which should become official within 45 days unless Congress tries to block it, will allow American banks to establish relations with Cuban banks.