US drops Cuba from terrorism list

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/243433-us-drops-cuba-from-terrorism-list

May 29, 2015, 11:27 am
US drops Cuba from terrorism list

By Jesse Byrnes

The State Department formally dropped Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Friday after more than three decades.

The move was expected for weeks. President Obama first announced his plans to remove Cuba from the list in mid-April, and Congress did nothing to block that action during a 45-day review period.

Removing Cuba from the list, where it has been included since 1982, paves the way for diplomatic recognition between the two countries and the opening of embassies. Some trade barriers would also be lifted following Cuba's removal from the list, though lifting the full U.S. trade embargo requires congressional action.

It's the latest step in Obama's push to normalize relations between the two Cold War adversaries.

Obama made the decision following his meeting with Cuban leader Raúl Castro last month in Panama.

A report from Obama to Congress on April 14 certified the country had not supported international terrorism in the previous six months and agreed to not do so in the future.

Secretary of State John Kerry made Cuba's removal from the list official on Friday.

"The rescission of Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism reflects our assessment that Cuba meets the statutory criteria for rescission," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement Friday.

"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 added.

In recent weeks, Obama administration officials have continued to rail against Cuba's human rights abuses.

Obama announced sweeping changes to normalize relations with Cuba in December, as well as an easing of some travel restrictions.

Since then, U.S. and Cuban officials have moved to re-establish diplomatic relations and set up embassies. Last week they met for their fourth round of talks in Washington.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said last week that Obama "would relish the opportunity to visit the Island of Cuba, and Havana in particular" before he leaves office.

Three nations will be left on the terrorism list after Cuba is removed: Iran, Sudan and Syria.

[mountaineer]

Yep, pretty much.

Boehner: Removal of Cuba from State Terrorism List Gives Castro Regime 'Political Win in Return for Nothing'

(WASHINGTON) -- Speaker of the House John Boehner ripped the Obama administration on Friday, saying that by taking Cuba off of the State Department's list of state sponsors of terror, it had "handed the Castro regime a significant political win in return for nothing."

Boehner says the Cuban regime "has offered no assurances it will address its long record of repression and human rights abuses at home" and has failed to indicate that "it will cease its support for violence throughout the region." Boehner has previously made clear that he is against normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba, a move President Obama announced late last year.

"Removing the regime from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terror is just the latest example of this administration focusing more on befriending our enemies than helping our allies."

"Fortunately," Boehner added, "it will have little practical effect. Most U.S. sanctions on the Cuban regime are contained in other laws -- laws the U.S. House will ensure remain in place as we work to protect those fighting for freedom, and in many cases, simply their own survival."

The administration announced the removal of Cuba from the state sponsor of terror list on Friday, months after Obama announced the two nations would discuss normalizing relations. Earlier this week, the two nations announced that embassies would re-open in Havana and Washington, D.C. for the first time in more than 50 years.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest downplayed Boehner's concern, saying that "there continue to be issues that need to be worked out," but that recent discussion have seen "important progress."

"Ultimately," Earnest said at a Friday press briefing, "what we think all of that will do is empower the Cuban people, that is the ultimate goal of this policy change, and there is no question that the deeper engagement will empower Cuban people and put additional pressure on Cuban government to do a better job on human rights."

ABC News/KMBC