U.S. takes Cuba offff terrorism blacklist

MIAMI — It’s official. After 33 years on the U.S. blacklist of pariah nations, Cuba is no longer considered a state sponsor of terrorism.

A 45-day notification to Congress of Cuba’s impending removal from the list expired Friday and Secretary of State John Kerry made the final decision to rescind Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“While the United States has significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions, these fall outside the criteria relevant to the rescis-

sion of a state sponsor of terrorism designation,” the State Department said in a statement.

The list, which also includes Syria, Iran and Sudan, is reserved for nations that repeatedly provide support for international acts of premeditated, politically motivated violence against noncombatants.

Cuba was placed on the list during the Cold War, an era when there was still a Soviet Union and Cuba was accused of supporting and arming leftist insurgencies in Latin America and Africa.

On April 8, the State Department completed a review of whether Cuba should remain on the li st and recommended to President Barack Obama that it be removed.

He concurred and six days later sent a report to Congress of his intention, setting the clock ticking on a 45-day period in which Congress could challenge Cuba’s delisting.

In his report, the president said Cuba hadn’t provided any support for international terrorism in the previous six months and had given assurances it would not support such acts in the future.

“There has not been a vote in Congress, so that’s going to stand,” Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said during a visit to Cuba this week. “I think it will be a matter of weeks when we have restored diplomatic relations.”

At the conclusion of the fourth round of normalization talks in Washington last week, the two sides said they were close to reaching agreement on renewing dip-

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