[Washington=AP/Newsis] As the end of its term approaches, the Biden administration in the United States removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on the 14th (local time). The photo shows U.S. President Joe Biden delivering a speech on foreign policy at the U.S. State Department in Washington on the 13th (local time). 2025.01.15
[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Moon Ye-seong = As the end of its term approaches, the Biden administration in the United States removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on the 14th (local time).
The White House announced, “We are revoking the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and related laws.”
Regarding the background of the withdrawal, the White House explained, “The Cuban government has not engaged in any international terrorist-supporting activities in the past six months and has made it clear that it will not support terrorism in the future.”
While President Biden made a political decision as he approaches retirement, it is highly likely that this decision will be overturned with the inauguration of a second Trump administration. This is because Senator Marco Rubio, who has been designated as the candidate for Secretary of State in Trump’s second administration, has supported sanctions against Cuba.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in March 1982 for supporting insurgencies in South America but removed it from the list in 2015 during the Barack Obama administration, after 33 years.
However, at the end of his first term, Trump re-designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in January 2021.