The Government of Donald Trump affirmed today that it is seriously evaluating to include Cuba in its list of sponsoring states of terrorism, which implies the imposition of economic sanctions, due to its actions in Venezuela and its support to the Colombian guerrilla National Liberation Army (THE N).
In an interview with Efe, the manager of Latin America at the White House, Mauricio Claver-Carone, said that “Cuba seems to be willing and obsessed with writing its own script to be reinstated to that list”, which came out in 2015 .
“We are reviewing (the possibility of including Cuba in the list) not only for their actions in Venezuela, (but also) for their support of terrorist groups such as the ELN, and for the attacks on our diplomats and Canadian diplomats” in the island, said the official and adviser to President Trump.
North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Iran now make up the list of states sponsoring terrorism published annually by the Department of State, and which has as a consequence sanctions such as the prohibition on the sale of arms and economic aid.
Cuba was part of that “black list” for more than three decades, from 1982 to 2015, when the then President Barack Obama ordered his withdrawal from the list in the midst of a climate of melting ice between the two countries.
The reasons for USA to keep Cuba on the list for so many years were its presumed welcome to members of the Spanish terrorist organization ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in addition to some fugitives from the US justice system.
Claver-Carone cited different reasons for the possible resumption of these sanctions against Cuba, the main one of which is his presumed military and intelligence support to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“Cuba’s actions in Venezuela, in which there is a legitimate, democratic government, and in which Cuba continues to support extra-legal groups, paramilitaries, collectives, etc., terrorizing the National Assembly, its leaders, the Venezuelan people In any part of the world it would be seen as support or frankly actions of terrorism that are fostering, “he said.
“Obviously, (it also counts) the support they continue to keep the National Liberation Army in Cuba and on the border with Venezuela,” added the Cuban-born official, born in Miami and a strong supporter of the embargo on the island.
Claver-Carone recalled the recent attack against the Police School in Bogota perpetrated by the ELN guerrillas, which left 21 dead, and that the Government of Colombia has asked Cuba to deliver to the ELN negotiators who are on the island to bring them to justice.
The possible sanction against Cuba would be added to another measure that promises to further tighten relations with the island: the possibility that Washington will activate a legal provision that would allow Cuban-Americans to demand before US courts. properties that were expropriated after the Cuban Revolution.
