Washington has officially decided to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The move is the latest in the development of warmer relations between the two nations. Now that Cuba has been removed from the list, only Iran, Sudan and Syria remain.
Cuba and U.S. relations steadily improving
“The rescission of Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism reflects our assessment that Cuba meets the statutory criteria for rescission,” said State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke in a statement. “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 rescission of a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation.”
The normalization of relations between the two nations took another step forward last month when President Obama recommended that Congress remove Cuba from the list. The move came after a meeting between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro during the Summit of the Americas in Panama.
A fourth round of talks aimed at fully restoring diplomatic ties and opening embassies hit some difficulties this week. The talks took place in Washington D.C. between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson and Josefina Vidal, director of U.S. affairs at the Cuban foreign ministry. Although there are only fine details left to be discussed, there remain some minor issues to be resolved before embassies will be re-opened.
Sticking points arise during negotiations
One issue is an agreement on security requirements outside the planned embassy in the Cuban capital of Havana. Both the U.S. and Cuba limit the movement of foreign diplomats.
Cuban diplomats can only move freely within a 25 mile radius of their post. If they want to move outside of that area they must ask for permission.
Cuba has a particular issue with an American-run program in Havana which offers computer courses to Cubans, with the aim of training them to be journalists. American journalism professors teach the course, and Castro has proclaimed it to be “illegal.”
The media in Cuba is controlled by the state, and officials claim that diplomats cannot permit this kind of training. They claim that the Vienna Conventions do not grant them the authority to do so.
Although the State Department claims that the program is fairly standardized, it appears to be open to making changes in order to reach a deal. If an agreement is reached, the State Department would then give Congress 15 days notice before the embassy is re-opened.
Cuba stands to benefit from developments
The re-opening of embassies is historically the prerogative of the President and involves no new appropriations, and as such Congress cannot block any such action from the White House.
By removing Cuba from the list, the U.S. allows Havana to conduct banking and other activities in the United States. However a U.S. trade embargo remains in place. Cuba continues to press for the removal of the embargo, but it can only be lifted by Congress.
As a result of the move, Cuba will gain improved access to international financing that it could not previously use. Its removal from the list is an important step in the normalization of relations with Cuba, and further progress seems likely in the near future.
