CUBA loses its state sponsor of terrorism designation [FOR NOW].

With just a few days left before a new Republican administration takes over, the outgoing Biden Admin is rescinding Cuba's state sponsor of terrorism designation.

• https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/14/certification-of-rescission-of-cubas-designation-as-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-administration-will-announce-its-lifting-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-designation-for-cuba/ar-BB1rrZ76

WHERE DOES CUBA STAND WITH THE US NOW?

1. For now, the latest change in Cuba's status means a reversal of several blanket prohibitions, such as
   1. A ban on arms-related sales,
   2. Enhanced controls (subject to congressional approval) over dual-use exports,
   3. A prohibition on economic assistance, and
   4. Various list-specific financial sanctions, e.g., a requirement for the US government to oppose any loans by the World Bank, IMF, and other multilateral FIs to Cuba.
2. The Biden Administration
   1. Has further rescinded Cuba-related National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 issued by Trump in 2017, doing away with the so-called 'restricted list' of Cuban (sub)entities engagement with which by US persons was prohibited.
   2. Issued a 6-month waiver for Title III of the Helms-Burton Act (Libertad Act).
      1. Title III provided Cuban exiles who are also US nationals with a private right of action before US federal courts against anyone who has traded in property confiscated by the Cuban government since 1959.

1. It should be noted many similarly stringent restrictions will remain in place as Cuba is separately subject to a trade embargo

WILL TRUMP REVERSE

1. Rubio or his office did not immediately comment, but one of his Republican colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Texas Sen.
2. Ted Cruz quickly denounced the Biden administration's move. Cruz said in a statement:-
1. “Today’s decision is unacceptable on its merits," “The terrorism advanced by the Cuban regime has not ceased. I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage from the decision.”
3. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, criticised the move and predicted that Trump would quickly reverse Biden’s decision. Gimenez posted on X
1. “President Biden is a pathetic coward,”
2. “Come January 20th, there will be a NEW SHERIFF in town & President Trump alongside Secretary of State @SenMarcoRubio will not only put #Cuba BACK on the list but PULVERIZE the regime once & for all!”

CUBAN SANCTION TIMELINE

1. Originally designated in 1982 for its support for revolutionary movements across Latin America and Africa, Cuba was removed from the US State Department's terrorism backers list by President Obama in 05/2015.
2. It was re-designated only days before the end of Donald Trump's 1st presidential term in 01/2021, and this new designation has remained in force for all of Joe Biden's 4 years in the White House.
3. Once delisted, Cuba will have been the second country, after Iraq (1979-1982, 1990-2004), to have been added to and removed from the US state sponsors of Terrorism list twice.

OTHER COUNTRIES SANCTION TIMELINE

1. Libya, South Yemen, and Sudan were all listed once in the past, respectively in 1979-2006, 1979-1990, and 1993-2020.
2. North Korea was added in 1988, removed in 2008, and re-added by the Trump Administration in 2017.
3. Syria and Iran, listed since 1979 and 1984, resp., maintain their designations unchanged. Interestingly, despite the historically significant amount of public discourse around Cuba and Iran in US policy circles, it is Syria rather than either of these two countries that was 1st designated a state sponsor of terrorism.
4. Like Iran, though, Syria has seen no change in its status since. The recent demise of the Assad regime in Damascus could bring about winds of change.

SOURCE

• Certification of Rescission of Cuba’s Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, Jan 14, 2025 - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/14/certification-of-rescission-of-cubas-designation-as-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-administration-will-announce-its-lifting-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-designation-for-cuba/ar-BB1rrZ76
• https://linkscan.io/scan/ux/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL3Bvc3RzL2dlb3JnZS12b2xvc2hpbl9jdWJhLWFjdGl2aXR5LTcyODUyNDQyODM0OTY4NDk0MDgtc1lzQz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNoYXJlJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09bWVtYmVyX2lvcw==/AAC729A6C12A45713B8147A02FDA1DB32690E2E06F2EF8E01ECB93FB2E40B5B9?c=1andi=1anddocs=1