Havana, Jan 24 (RHC) U.S. Senator Peter Welch expressed his dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s decision to reclassify Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in his first executive order.

The Vermont Democrat warned that once again, just like during his first term, Trump faced pressure from the same minority who believed that by making the lives of the Cuban people as miserable as possible, they would bring about the downfall of the government.

During a parliamentary session, Welch emphasized that Cuba should not be included in the list of countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism, and by reinstating it on that list, the president has disregarded the law.

He pointed out that, in his final week in office, President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the list of Special Security-Related Sanctions, which had been imposed by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the final days of the first Trump administration (2017-2021).

The senator stated that this classification has created significant challenges for the Cuban people, both directly and indirectly. He also argued that Biden correctly assessed that there is no proof of Cuba’s involvement in international terrorism.

He noted that the response from those who support the designation of terrorism was as expected, and stressed that if the facts and the law supported this statement, he would agree. However, this decision has become a political one, not based on facts or the law.

On January 14, as his term was drawing to a close, Biden took a belated but necessary action by implementing certain measures regarding Cuba, including removing it from the list of countries subject to unilateral sanctions.

During his first term in office, Trump pursued a strategy of intense pressure on Cuba and implemented 243 additional measures that further strengthened the embargo.

On January 12, 2021, just eight days before leaving the White House, the Republican once again added Cuba to the list of countries allegedly sponsoring terrorism, which it had not been on since 2015, when then-President Barack Obama had removed it.

(Source: Prensa Latina)

Havana, January 21 (Radio Habana Cuba) — Cuba today maintains its determination not to give in and to continue fighting, despite the island’s reinstatement on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism and other interventionist actions against it.

This was stated yesterday by the highest authorities of the Caribbean nation, who considered that the designation of their country on the unilateral list seeks to intensify the economic war unleashed by the United States.

In this regard, President Miguel Díaz-Canel stressed that the measure of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump is an act of arrogance and contempt, which is not surprising and has the purpose of domination.

From the social network X, he denounced that the action is also a mockery and abuse that confirms the discredit of the lists and unilateral mechanisms of coercion of the United States government.

On that platform, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described this and the other new measures of Washington as “medieval and a regression of civilization.”

He pointed out that “drunk with arrogance, President Trump decides without reason that Cuba sponsors terrorism.  He knows he is lying.  His effort is to increase the punishment and the economic war against Cuban families.”

Meanwhile, the head of the National Assembly of People’s Power (Parliament), Esteban Lazo, pointed out that Trump’s decision “is contrary to the sustained and firm claim of the Cuban people and the vast majority of the international community.”

The Secretary of Organization of the Communist Party of Cuba, Roberto Morales, spoke in a similar way, who assured that the largest of the Antilles will continue to battle “against that and all the demons that come from the new US administration.”

On Monday, Trump revoked the order issued just six days ago by his predecessor, Joe Biden, which excluded Cuba from the unilateral list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

The measure is one of several that the newly inaugurated president has taken in his first hours in office, related to Biden’s orders and actions that he had considered harmful, and which he has begun to get rid of through a series of executive orders.

On January 14, Biden made his decision, albeit late, that Cuba “should no longer be designated as a State sponsor of terrorism.”

He also issued a waiver for Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, also known as the Liberty Act, for a period of six months and rescinded National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 of 2017 on policy towards Cuba to eliminate the so-called restricted list.

Cuba was designated by Washington as a “state sponsor of terrorism” in January 2021, in one of Trump’s last actions before concluding his first term. 

[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]

Caracas, Jan 21 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela today categorically rejected the decision of the United States government to reinstate Cuba on the list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

This unfounded and arbitrary measure represents an act of hostility that contradicts the principles of international law and distorts global efforts for peace and cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

It said that accusing Cuba -a nation internationally recognized for its solidarity and humanitarian commitment- “not only lacks foundation, but also shows the intention to reinstate policies of aggression and coercion that have marked the recent history of relations” between Washington and Latin America. The Bolivarian Republic strongly condemned this unjust act and called on the peoples and governments of the world to clearly denounce and reject this type of decision, which “violates the principles of respect for sovereignty and seeks to justify the inhumane blockade against the Cuban people.”

The Venezuelan Government reaffirmed its full solidarity with the people and the Executive of Cuba, and ratified its commitment to continue defending the dignity and self-determination of the peoples against any attempt at imperialist domination.

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Havana, January 16 (RHC)– Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez expressed his gratitude to presidents, organizations and friends who supported and welcomed the exclusion of Cuba from the unilateral list of States sponsoring terrorism.

Through his X account, Rodriguez extended his gratitude to all the people and institutions that supported the Caribbean country in its demand to be removed from the list, drawn up by the U.S. State Department.

On Tuesday, the government of Joe Biden removed Cuba from that unilateral list, among other provisions, although the economic blockade and a good part of the dozens of coercive measures that were put into effect since 2017 to reinforce it remain in force.

Washington’s decision was described by Havana as an action in the right direction, although limited and late.

To exclude Cuba from the arbitrary list, it should have been enough to recognize the truth, the total absence of reasons for such a designation and the exemplary performance of our country in the fight against terrorism, which has been admitted even by agencies of the United States government, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]

Havana, Jan 20 (RHC) Representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay, comprising the South American Solidarity Brigade, will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the contingent with a unique event in Cuba.

The event will include participation in the March of the Torches and the 6th International Conference for the Balance of the World.

The reception for the activists will be held at the José Martí Memorial in the Plaza de la Revolución on January 21st. The event will include volunteer work days, a discussion about the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by countries, and visits to the Fidel Castro Center, Havana, Villa Clara, and Sancti Spíiritus.

The brigadistas will firsthand experience the Cuban reality through their interactions with combatants, farmers, young people, and workers. They will also  donate medical supplies at the Diez de Octubre Clinical Surgical Hospital.

The team will be based at the Julio Antonio Mella International Camp in Caimito, where they will assist in the restoration of ships and green spaces that were severely affected by Hurricane Rafael in November.

Moreover, they will participate in conferences on Cuba’s 60-year-long economic blockade and cultural warfare, as well as the U.S. political subversion against the island.

This year, the South American solidarity brigade is the third to arrive in the country, following those from Australia and New Zealand, and Central America.

They join the Marathon of Love for Cuba, a global campaign organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Continental Solidarity Network. This project will continue until December 30, 2025, marking the 65th anniversary of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. (Source: ACN)

Washington, Jan 18 (Prensa Latina) Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, presented a bill to end the blockade against Cuba on Friday.

Wyden introduced US-Cuba Trade Act of 2025 “to repeal outdated sanctions on Cuba and establish normal trade relations with the island nation,” he said in a statement.

“Trying to isolate Cuba is a failed and obsolete strategy that punishes the Cuban people and closes off American influence and investment that could benefit both American farmers and ranchers and Cuban small businesses,” said the legislator, who was the chairman of the Finance Committee.

The initiative, co-sponsored by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, would have to go through a path that is too tortuous to advance in the Senate, controlled by Republicans.

However, the proposal shows the interest of members of Congress in achieving a normalization of relations with the neighboring country and a change in policy towards Cuba.

In February 2021, Wayden also introduced a similar bill and said in a statement that “continuing with this mechanism from the 1960s would be a failure.”

He added that the US Congress had an obligation to improve relations between the two countries as quickly as possible.

Donald Trump’s first administration (2017-2021) increased “tensions with Cuba during his disastrous period in office, but I am optimistic about President Joe Biden’s new diplomatic course,” said Wyden, who was the head of the Senate Finance Committee, at the time. Previously, in 2017, Wyden presented another bill for the elimination of the unilateral blockade imposed on Cuba more than 60 years ago and it also failed to prosper.

Since the beginning of his first term in office, in January 2017, Trump began to implement unprecedented measures against Cuba, which stood out for their systematic hostility and exceeded the number of 240.

When Biden took office four years ago, he promised to review the United States policy on Cuba, and “take his own course.”

However, the Democrat remained in line with the policy of his predecessor and on January 14, six days before leaving the White House, he announced a group of measures – although late and insufficient – in the right direction.

Biden removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (an act of elementary justice); waived Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, also known as the Libertad Act, for a period of six months; and rescinded National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 of 2017 to remove the so-called “restricted list.”

The outgoing president’s decision to remove Cuba from the list unilaterally honors the “wisdom and advice provided to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America, who encouraged him to take these steps,” according to a statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The US-Cuba Trade Act would repeal major statutes codifying sanctions against Cuba, including the Helms-Burton Act and the Cuban Democracy Act, as well as other provisions affecting trade, investment, and travel to Cuba; it would also establish normal trade relations with the country.

According to a 2016 finding by the International Trade Commission, easing restrictions on trade and business with Cuba might increase US exports by 1.4 billion dollars annually over the next five years.

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