For decades, the U.S. Department of State had Communist Cuba designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but President Obama, in move to “ease” travel restrictions, and further good will, lifted that designation.
President Donald Trump has been in office two-years, and while he has all-but rewritten Obama’s foreign policy with Cuba, he still hasn’t reestablished Cuba’s status as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
But the time for Trump to redesignate Cuba as terrorist state has come, considering the chaos and human atrocities the Castro regime has committed in Venezuela.
Florida U.S. Reps. Francis Rooney (R) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R) have penned a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to encourage the Trump administration to reestablish the terrorism designation on Cuba.
Both men pointed to Cuba’s support of Dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime and other regional terrorist organizations, such as Colombia’s FARC.
“Four years ago, president Obama removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism,” said Rooney “Despite this decision, Cuba has continued to support known terrorist organizations and corrupt dictators such as the regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, and has continued to harbor known terrorists sought by American law enforcement. Accordingly, I support the Administration’s firm stance toward our communist island neighbor and urge Secretary Pompeo and President Trump to redesignate Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.”
“I commend President Trump and his administration for imposing tough sanctions on the brutal regime in Cuba, and for the unprecedented decision to allow lawsuits to proceed against traffickers in confiscated properties. With these key changes, there remains a major mistake of the previous administration to rectify: returning Cuba to the state sponsors of terrorism list.
The Cuban regime smuggled weapons to North Korea, harbors fugitives including a convicted murderer on the FBI’s “Top Ten Most Wanted Terrorist” list, and planted thousands of operatives in Venezuela. I look forward to working with the Trump administration to continue its commendable policy of applying pressure to oppressive, anti-American dictatorships. Classifying Cuba as a terrorist state is an important next step in that robust policy.”-said Diaz-Balart
