What impact does returning to the US government's list of countries sponsor terrorism have for Cuba?
Cuba is once again on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism in the United States.
The decision, made public by the secretary of State, Mike Pompeo , arrives a few days after the change of government in the United States and will pose a new challenge for the administration of Joe Biden .
“With this measure we again hold the government of Cuba responsible and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and the subversion of US justice” Pompeo said in a statement.
In 1982, former President Barack Obama had removed Cuba from the list he had been on since 1982 in what was an important step in the “thaw” that a year later it would result in both countries resuming their diplomatic relations.
But this rapprochement, like many other policies of he President Obama was reversed by the government of Donald Trump, who gave way to a heavy-handed policy with both Cuba and Venezuela, which has made him very popular in South Florida.
“They are hitting us everywhere”: how the new restrictions announced by Trump affect the Cuban population
USA. links Cuba with support for the Colombian ELN and Venezuela.
But the decision to put Cuba on the list that only includes North Korea, Iran and Syria (after Sudan left after recognizing the state of Israel) is something that could be reversed by Joe Biden when he takes office on 20 January.
How does the United States justify it?
To provide a legal justification, Pompeo pointed to Cuba’s refusal to extradite members of the Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN) after a bomb attack in January 2020 in an academy Bogotá police station where they died 22 people.
Cuba has already said that it will not do so due to its role as a mediator in the peace talks between the ELN and the government of Colombia.
The leaders of the ELN, the largest active guerrilla in Colombia, traveled to Havana as part of the peace negotiations with the government that broke down after the attack.
Pompeo also pointed out that Cuba is the United States’ sanctuary for fugitives as Joanne Chesimard , also known as Assata Shakur , a militan you from Black Power who fled to the island after escaping from the prison where he was serving a sentence for the death of a police officer in New Jersey in 1973.
Joanna Chesimard was sentenced to pass between 31 and 33 years in jail.
The Secretary of State also spoke of Cuba’s alliance with Venezuela, where the United States promotes a change of government.
According to Pompeo, the island’s support allows President Nicolás Maduro to stay in power and create “a permissive environment for international terrorists to live in Venezuela”. And yet the South American country is not included in the list.
“If the objective of the Trump government is to pressure Miguel Díaz-Canel (President of Cuba) to stop supporting Maduro is going to fail ”, predicts in dialogue with BBC Mundo John Kavulich , president of the United States-Cuba Economic and Trade Council, based in New York.
What does it mean to be on the list?
To the countries that it considers sponsors of terrorism, Washington prohibits them from exporting or selling arms, certain exports that would also improve their military capabilities are controlled and it restricts economic assistance.
The countries in the list cannot access loans from the International Monetary Fund and other global institutions.
Chancellor Bruno Rodríguez already condemned days ago what was confi He confirmed this Monday: the re-entry of Cuba in the list of countries sponsors of terrorism.
In the particular case of the island, these sanctions deepened those that had already been imposed more extensively by the economic embargo in force since the decade of 1960.
Cuba was already on the list of 1982 until 2015, in the midst of a process of normalization of relations between Washington and Havana promoted by President Obama.
“The government of Cuba wanted to extinguish the flame that some US companies were keeping alive to reconnect with Cuba. This Monday, the State Department threw a bucket of water, ”Kavulich told BBC Mundo .
What impact will it have for Cuba?
It will impact what remains of trade and political relations between the United States and Cuba.
“Financial institutions will have another reason to avoid operations with Cuba,” said Kavulich.
With the monetary unification, the Cuban peso becomes the only current currency on the island.
Insurers may suspend coverage of transactions and operations.
“And there will be more scrutiny in operations with Cuba, which will result in fewer governments and companies wanting to have a relationship with the island,” said Kavulich.
“For US companies it will be another disincentive, among many others, to seek opportunities to export, import or supply services to Cuba,” he added.
This comes in a A particularly delicate moment for Cuba .
On January 1, economic reforms of great impact came into force, such as the introduction of the single currency, the Cuban peso, at an exchange rate of $ 1 = 24 pesos.
Until now, in addition to the Cuban peso, the Cuban peso also circulated convertible, whose value was equivalent to one US dollar.
Cuba undertakes “Zero Day” of the monetary order and profound economic reforms
The measure is accompanied by the rise in the prices of food, basic goods and services, and also an increase in salaries and pensions.
Analysts inside and outside Cuba describe these reforms as the most significant since those introduced in the
to alleviate the deep recession after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the island’s main benefactor for years.
Cuba is going through an economic crisis worsened by the pandemic of coronavirus and the tightening of sanctions by the Trump administration.
This context exacerbated the shortage of foreign exchange, food, medicine and other essential goods. The Cuban government said its economy had contracted a 11% in 2020.
Cuba and the United States resumed relations in 2016.
What is the response in Cuba?
The Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, condemned the decision from the United States.
“The political opportunism of this action is recognized by anyone who has an honest concern about the scourge of terrorism and its victims,” said Rodríguez on Twitter.
We condemn the hypocritical and cynical qualification of #Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, announced by the US.
The political opportunism of this action is recognized by anyone who has an honest concern about the scourge of terrorism and its victims.
– Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) January 11, 2021
He 31 December, President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel , expressed his rejection of the possibility of his country being included again in the list.
“ We denounce a unilateral maneuver , absurd, hypocritical and unfair for the US government to include Cuba on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. That government welcomes terrorist groups that act against Cuba, “he said on Twitter.
Will Biden reverse it?
Biden has said that he wants to reestablish some level of the commitment started with Obama, which includes allowing Cuban Americans visit family members and send money.
It could remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, but it will not be immediate, since the State Department would have to carry out a formal review of the measure.
“Turning this designation around takes time,” said Kavulich, who assures that for the Biden government the connection that Trump makes between Cuba and Venezuela may be a problem.
Nicolás Maduro and Miguel Díaz Canel are two good allies.
“The Trump administration successfully connected Cuba with Venezuela and the incoming Biden government has done too. There may even be pressure from congressmen to add Venezuela to the list instead of to remove Cuba, ”he says.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy , who supports the United States’ rapprochement with both Cuba and Venezuela, condemned the designation as “openly politicized” and said that “local terrorism in the United States is a much greater threat to Americans.”
Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so as not to miss our best content.
Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!
