United States Removes Cuba From List Of Countries 'Not Cooperating Fully' Against Terrorism

The United States on Wednesday removed Cuba from the list of countries that were allegedly "not cooperating fully" to fight against terrorism.

"The department determined that the circumstances for Cuba's certification as a 'not fully cooperating country' have changed from 2022 to 2023," a State Department official said, Reuters reported.

The State Department noted that Cuba was added to the list in 2022 after the South American country refused to talk with Colombia over extradition of members of the National Liberation Army group, also known as ELN.

However, Colombia later canceled its arrest warrants for those ELN members. "Moreover, the United States and Cuba resumed law enforcement cooperation in 2023, including on counterterrorism," the official said.

Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez acknowledged the United States decision of removing Cuba from the list, but mentioned that the country can do more for the South American country.

"The US has just admitted what is well known to everyone: #Cuba fully cooperates with efforts against terrorism. Any political manipulation of this issue must cease," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Cuba's arbitrary and unjust inclusion in the list of States sponsors of terrorism must end."

In a separate post, he wrote, "The US should remove #Cuba from the arbitrary list designating countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism. It should cease to apply the economic coercive measures that accompany that unjust designation. That is how it would truly respond to an almost universal appeal."

While the South American country is out of the United States list, there are other countries like North Korea, Syria, Iran and Venezuela still on the same list.

Spokesperson for the United States Department of State Matthew Miller addressed the press on the same day after a meeting in Washington with Cuban authorities on migration and said, both nations had bilateral discussions.

"They reflect the commitment by the United States to regularly review the implementation of the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords, which date back to 1984," he said, as per official State website. "Ensuring safe, orderly, humane and regular migration."

He explained that the United States and Cuba remained "primary interest" of the former country, "consistent with our interest in fostering family reunification and promoting greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba."

The United States has an embargo against Cuba, meaning no American business owner can trade with Cuban businesses. The first embargo was imposed on March 14, 1958 and another one on Oct. 19, 1960.

The second embargo was imposed after Cuba nationalized the United States-owned Cuban oil refineries without compensation, the US placed another embargo on exports to Cuba, excluding food and medicine.