Havana, September 21 (RHC) — An open letter to U.S. President Joe Biden is receiving wide coverage around the world.

The Sri Lankan Guardian newspaper published the letter to U.S. President Joe Biden from nearly 600 international parliamentarians demanding the removal of Cuba from the list of States suspected of sponsoring terrorism.

The newspaper stressed in a review that the letter, signed by legislators from 73 countries and coordinated by the Progressive International (PI), denounces the designation as “cynical, cruel and a clear violation of international law.”

It recalled that Washington initially removed Cuba from the list in 2015 during the Barack Obama administration after a thorough review, but former President Donald Trump reinstated the unfair categorization on the island in 2021.

The Sri Lankan newspaper pointed out the devastating impact on the Caribbean nation of extreme economic measures such as restricted access to essential goods such as food and medicine.

It emphasized that despite previous campaign promises to reverse the decision, President Joe Biden has not acted to remove Cuba from the list.

The signatories of the letter, which include prominent political figures such as former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Podemos leader of Spain Ione Belarra and the president of the Peoples’ Democratic Party of Turkey Ertuğrul Kürkcü, maintain that the US measures are designed to maximize the suffering of the Cuban people, it said.

According to the lawmakers’ letter, the designation undermines fundamental human rights, including the right to food, health and education, and violates the principles of international law.

Echoing the appeal, the newspaper underlines Cuba’s long-standing role as a mediator for peace in the region and highlights the broader geopolitical impact of its inclusion on the list.

It stressed that, in this regard, the lawmakers call on their respective governments for a greater claim in favor of the Caribbean island and for its complete removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The open letter to Biden affirms that Washington’s coercive measures harm the Cuban population and violate international norms, Sri Lanka Guardian noted.

The letter follows a similar call made earlier by 35 former heads of state, urging President Biden to act before his term ends, the newspaper recalled. (Source: Prensa Latina)

Havana, September 22 (RHC) — The head of the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Assistance to Cubans Residing Abroad (DACCRE) of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Ana Teresita González, assured in New York that Cuba is deepening dialogue with its compatriots outside of the country and also recognizes their support.

During the V Meeting of Cuban Residents in the United States, and in statements to the Prensa Latina agency, the official described the meeting held at the Cuban diplomatic headquarters in the United States as “excellent.”

“It is very important to know that our fellow citizens in the United States continue to support their country, defending it, fighting against the blockade and for Cuba to be removed from the spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism,” said the official.

As part of the dialogue, the diplomat presented the changes proposed by the new regulations on migration, nationality and foreigners, recently approved by the Cuban Parliament.

The objective, she said, is to further strengthen the nation’s ties with migration.  As a result of the new provisions, Cubans will be able to enter and leave the country without a time limit established to remain abroad and keep their properties without any difficulty.

Also, the concept of effective residence is introduced, through which Cubans will be able to choose to settle in their native country or abroad.

“This is very important when planning public and social policies, as it allows us to evaluate, within society, what are the real needs of the population in the country,” explained González.

She also insisted on the new opportunities for the insertion of Cubans abroad in the economic dynamics of their country of origin, an aspect in which “much remains to be done,” according to the representative.

After the recent updates, Cubans in the diaspora can connect with the island through foreign investment, trade, or international cooperation.

“There are already examples of cooperation, trade and investment projects that have been positive and that are developing today without any difficulty,” said the head of DACCRE. (Source: Prensa Latina)

Havana, September 21 (RHC)– Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez today called the blockade against his country “a policy motivated to do harm,” denouncing its impact in a meeting with Cubans living in the United States.

“I come to the UN to give living testimony that this set of measures is a massive and flagrant violation of human rights,” said the head of diplomacy during the Fifth Meeting of Cubans Living in the northern nation.

Before more than one hundred fellow citizens, the Minister of Foreign Affairs thanked the efforts of the community abroad in a particularly complex context for his country.

“This extraordinary moment of the struggle of Cuba and Cubans everywhere coincides with this important meeting in which they have been able to take stock for the future,” he said.

The meeting, held at the Cuban diplomatic headquarters in New York, coincided with the day before the start of the UN General Assembly in which the head of the Havana diplomacy will participate.

The meeting allowed for the analysis of core issues in Cuba’s relationship with its citizens, particularly after the approval by parliament of the new laws on migration, citizenship and foreigners.

More than 150 Cubans living in the United States heard first-hand the details of the regulations in a frank dialogue, valued as positive by the foreign minister himself.

According to official figures, more than two million Cubans and their children reside in this nation, the main recipient of migration from the island.   (Source: Prensa Latina)

Havana, September 20 (RHC)– Nearly 600 parliamentarians from 73 countries demanded this Friday that Cuba be excluded from the spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism, drawn up by the United States Department of State.

Through a joint letter coordinated and published by the Progressive International (PI), the legislators called on their respective governments to take immediate measures to advocate for the elimination of Cuba from that list.

Cuba was removed from the list in 2015 during the administration of former President Barack Obama and was included again in 2021, during the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency.  In addition to the Caribbean nation, Syria, since 1979, Iran, since 1984, and North Korea, since 2017, are also part of the illegitimate list.

The parliamentarians assure that Cuba must be removed from the list in the name of dignity, decency and the integrity of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).

According to UN experts, the inclusion of Cuba has weakened “fundamental human rights, including the right to food, the right to health, the right to education, economic and social rights, the right to life and the right to development.”

The inclusion of Cuba in the list of sponsors of terrorism brings with it atrocious consequences in spheres such as humanitarian aid, business, investment and trade, which severely harms Cuba and Cuban citizens.

Fearful of being accused of instigating terror and the high fines that come with having relations with Cuba, banks, financial institutions and international vendors have stopped facilitating trade.

It also hinders research, since in the United States the use of public funds for travel to or from countries that are included in the list of state sponsors of terrorism is prohibited, preventing research and support for Cuban academics.

Here is the full text of the letter
We, the undersigned parliamentarians from around the world, condemn the designation of Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” and call on our respective governments to take immediate steps to advocate for its removal.

The designation of Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the United States is cynical, cruel, and a clear violation of international law.

The designation, withdrawn in 2015 following a thorough assessment by the Obama administration, was reapplied to Cuba in the final days of the Trump presidency as the final act of his economic warfare campaign against the island.

As a candidate, Joe Biden promised to restore the diplomatic relationship fostered by his Democratic predecessor. But as president, Biden reneged—even after the Colombian government dropped extradition charges against members of its National Liberation Army (ELN)—on the original justification for Trump reapplying the “state sponsor” designation.

The designation is therefore cynical, because Cuba, far from sponsoring terrorism, has served as a key intermediary in peace talks between the Colombian government, the ELN and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The current talks mark a decade since Cuba called on CELAC member states to declare the region a Zone of Peace, “based on respect for the principles and norms of International Law.”

The designation is cruel because it is designed to maximize the suffering of the people of Cuba, stifling their economy, displacing their families and even restricting the flow of humanitarian aid. According to UN experts, the designation has weakened “fundamental human rights, including the right to food, the right to health, the right to education, economic and social rights, the right to life and the right to development.”

Finally, the designation is illegal because it weakens “the principle of sovereign equality of States, the prohibition of intervention in the internal affairs of States and the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes,” according to experts.

September 18 (Belly of the Beast) Marnia Briones is a self-taught Cuban artist with an uncanny ability to turn discarded items into pieces of art. She turns old clothes into canvases, cigar boxes into dollhouses and cans into wind chimes.

Her art has been exhibited in Cuba, Venezuela, Spain, Italy and the United States.

But you can also find it in marginalized neighborhoods in Havana, Cuba, such as El Fanguito.

Learn more about Marnia and her artistic journey here.

Havana, Sepember 18 (RHC)– The President of the United States, Joe Biden, extended for another year the Trading with the Enemy Act, a 1917 regulation under which the blockade of Cuba was imposed — considered the longest in history.

“I hereby determine that the continuation of the exercise of these authorities with respect to Cuba for one year is in the national interest of the United States,” Biden said in the brief memorandum sent to the Treasury Department, published in the Federal Register.

The text stressed that “therefore, consistent with the authority conferred upon me by section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223, I continue for one year, until September 14, 2025, the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba, as implemented in the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515.”

The Trading with the Enemy Act, enacted under President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), during the period of the First World War (1914-1918), empowers the government in power in Washington to restrict commercial activities with any nation that they consider an adversary.

Based on this legislation, on February 7, 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 3447, which officially began an economic, commercial and financial blockade that has survived 11 White House administrations. (Source: Prensa Latina)