The United States has taken Cuba off the list of state sponsors of
terrorism, a step that authorities in Havana had insisted upon in advance of
the reopening of embassies.
U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry signed the order
Friday, 45 days after the Obama administration informed Congress that it would
remove Cuba from the list. The State Department determined that Cuba had not
supported international terrorism in the previous six months, a requirement for
getting off the list that now has only three names — Iran, Syria and Sudan.
Cuba had been on it since 1982.
Jeff Rathke, a spokesman for the State Department,
said the decision to drop Cuba from the list “reflects our assessment that Cuba
meets the statutory criteria.”
“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,” he said.
Removing the terror designation lifts only some of the
numerous U.S. trade barriers against Cuba. An economic embargo remains in
effect, and reversing it requires a congressional vote. President Obama has
said he hopes to work with Congress to get it lifted.
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