Obama to remove Cuba from terror list

President Barack Obama is to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, in a move that will further normalise relations and ease Havana's access to financing from international banks.

The move to take the Caribbean nation off the terrorism list after three decades comes on the heels of Mr Obama's meeting with Cuban president Raul Castro in Panama on Saturday. He is the first US president to meet a Cuban leader in more than half a century.

Mr Obama on Tuesday told Congress that he intended to take the historic step to remove Cuba from the list after concluding that Havana had "not provided any support for international terrorism" over the past six months, and because the Cuban government had "provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future".

Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American senator who on Monday announced that he was running for president, blasted what he said was a "terrible" decision.

"Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism," said Mr Rubio. "They should have remained on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and I think [it] sends a chilling message to our enemies . . . that this White House is no longer serious about calling terrorism by its proper name."

For more than two years Cuba has sponsored peace talks in Havana between the Colombian government and the Marxist Farc guerrilla movement.

Mr Obama's decision will remove one of the hurdles to a full normalisation in US-Cuba relations and will facilitate moves to open embassies in both countries. But relations will remain strained over the half-century-long US trade embargo on Cuba, which only Congress can remove.

Taking Havana off the terrorism list has big implications for trade, financial transactions, banking relations, tax regulation and diplomatic immunity for government officials. It also removes certain measures that, until now, restricted Cuba's ability to receive economic assistance from multilateral lenders - and also commercial lending by banks, including those not in the US.

It is nearly impossible, for example, to have a banking relationship with a government that is considered a sponsor of terrorism. In the US, Cuba has lost the ability to use US banks for its own diplomatic missions with the UN, as well as its interest sections in Washington, because no banks are willing to carry the heavy regulatory burden and risks.

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"Taking Cuba off the list of terrorist states is a sensible, and long overdue, step," said Geoff Thale of the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy organisation. "Whatever US and Cuban differences, the Cuban government has not been a supporter of terrorism."

Mr Thale added that the move was "significant about what it means for financial transactions with third countries" in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Capitol Hill Cubans, a group that opposes improving relations with Havana, accused Mr Obama of caving in to pressure from Mr Castro.

"Cuba's removal from the terrorism list has been a key condition of the Castro regime for normalising diplomatic relations. It is blatantly clear that the state department was pressured to expedite the review, so that Obama could comply with this demand," the group said in a statement.

Congress has 45 days to review the move to take Cuba off the list, which includes Iran and Syria. While lawmakers could block the step, they would need a vetoproof majority which would be difficult to obtain.

Twitter: @DimiSevastopulo

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