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TOPLINE
In another reversal to what had been years of thawing tensions between the U.S. and Cuba, the Trump administration is now considering putting the Caribbean nation back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a Reuters report says — just five years after President Barack Obama took the historic step of removing Cuba from the list.
01 May 2020, Cuba, Havanna: A man with a face mask walks across the emblematic “Plaza de la … [+]
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
An unnamed Trump administration official told Reuters that there is a “convincing case” to put Cuba back on the list, citing the country’s backing of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who the U.S. does not recognize as the nation’s president.
The news comes after the State Department notified Congress on Tuesday that Cuba was added to a list of countries that do not support the U.S. in its fight against terrorism, a step short of actually naming them a state sponsor of terrorism.
The State Department said the move was made because the Cuban government refused to extradite members of a Colombian guerrilla group called the National Liberation Army, a point the official echoed to Reuters as reason to name the country a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Cuban government — which has repeatedly denied any links to terrorism — rejected the extradition request, reportedly because it would violate peace protocols signed between the Colombian government and the guerrillas.
A ruling on the re-listing could come by the end of this year, the Trump administration official told Reuters, just five years after President Barack Obama took the historic move of taking Cuba off the list.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
KEY BACKGROUND
While Obama had taken steps to warm relations after decades of hostility between the two countries, President Donald Trump has taken steps to roll back the easing tensions.
In 2017, Trump announced some of the economic and travel restrictions lifted under Obama would return, decrying the Obama administration for entering what he called “a completely one-sided deal.”
The Communist government of Cuba has continued to back Nicolas Maduro as in his claim as president of Venezuela, even after Venezuela faced international condemnation for the 2018 election that saw Maduro win another term, but only after violence erupted and widespread vote manipulation was suspected.
The U.S. and most other western countries recognize Juan Guaidó, the now-disputed head of the nation’s National Assembly, as Venezuela’s rightful head of state, and have demanded that Maduro step down.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Opposition to the Communist government in Cuba is popular with the large, primarily Republican Cuban-American community in south Florida, with the delegate-rich swing state likely crucial for Trump to win if he hopes to be reelected.
BIG NUMBER
4 — That’s the current number of countries on the U.S.’s state sponsor of terrorism list. The list includes North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria.
FURTHER READING
Exclusive: U.S. considers returning Cuba to list of state sponsors of terrorism – source (Reuters)
U.S. says Cuba does not cooperate in fight against terrorism and promotes disinformation (Miami Herald)
Trump announces changes to ‘completely one-sided deal’ with Cuba (Boston Globe)
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