U.S.
Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images
President Barack Obama will remove Cuba from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House announced Tuesday, a key step in his bid, announced in December, to normalize relations between the two countries.
Obama made the final decision after a State Department review of Cuba's presence on the list, which also includes Iran, Sudan and Syria. The designation has been a stain on Cuba's pride and a major stumbling block for efforts to mend ties between Washington and Havana by restoring formal diplomatic relations and reopening embassies that have been closed for more than five decades.
In a message to Congress, Obama said the government of Cuba "has not provided any support for international terrorism" over the last six months. He also told lawmakers that Cuba "has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future." Cuba was added to the terrorism list in 1982 by Ronald Reagan's administration after Havana was accused of supporting insurgencies in Colombia and Spain.
Congress now has 45 days to mull Obama's decision. In case of widespread opposition to the move — which several Cuban-American lawmakers have criticized — Congress could approve a resolution to thwart it.
Tuesday's announcement comes days after Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro met on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama. The talks marked the first formal meeting between leaders of the two countries in a half-century.
The U.S. long ago ceased accusing Cuba of supporting terrorism. When Obama and Castro announced the thaw in relations in December, Obama expressed his willingness to remove Cuba from the list.
However, he held off on making a final decision amid indications that the White House was reluctant to grant Cuba's request until other thorny issues — such as restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Havana — were resolved.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that taking Cuba off the list does not change the fact that the U.S. has differences with the island nation's government.
"Our concerns over a wide range of Cuba's policies and actions fall outside the criteria that is relevant to whether to rescind Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism," he said.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press
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