Statement Of U.S. Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo- Returning Cuba To List Of State Sponsors Of Terrorism

U.S. Announces Designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
Press Statement
Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
January 11, 2021

The State Department has designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists.

The Trump Administration has been focused from the start on denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home, and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice.

For decades, the Cuban government has fed, housed, and provided medical care for murderers, bombmakers, and hijackers, while many Cubans go hungry, homeless, and without basic medicine.  Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, traveled to Havana to conduct peace talks with the Colombian government in 2017.  Citing peace negotiation protocols, Cuba has refused Colombia’s requests to extradite ten ELN leaders living in Havana after the group claimed responsibility for the January 2019 bombing of a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people and injured more than 87 others.

Cuba also harbors several U.S. fugitives from justice wanted on or convicted of charges of political violence, many of whom have resided in Cuba for decades.  For example, the Cuban regime has refused to return Joanne Chesimard, on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List for executing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973; Ishmael LaBeet, convicted of killing eight people in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1972; Charles Lee Hill, charged with killing New Mexico state policeman Robert Rosenbloom in 1971; and others.

Cuba returns to the SST list following its broken commitment to stop supporting terrorism as a condition of its removal by the previous administration in 2015.  On May 13, 2020, the State Department notified Congress that it had certified Cuba under Section 40A(a) of the Arms Export Control Act as “not cooperating fully” with U.S. counterterrorism efforts in 2019.

In addition to the support for international terrorism that is the basis for today’s action, the Cuban regime engages in a range of malign behavior across the region.  The Cuban intelligence and security apparatus has infiltrated Venezuela’s security and military forces, assisting Nicholas Maduro to maintain his stranglehold over his people while allowing terrorist organizations to operate.  The Cuban government’s support for FARC dissidents and the ELN continues beyond Cuba’s borders as well, and the regime’s support of Maduro has created a permissive environment for international terrorists to live and thrive within Venezuela.

Today’s designation subjects Cuba to sanctions that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with Cuba, restricts U.S. foreign assistance, bans defense exports and sales, and imposes certain controls on exports of dual use items.

The United States will continue to support the Cuban people in their desire for a democratic government and respect for human rights, including freedom of religion, expression, and association.  Until these rights and freedoms are respected, we will continue to hold the regime accountable.

Baker & McKenzie
Chicago, Illinois
12 January 2020

“On January 11, 2021, the US State Department published a press release announcing Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (“SST”) for allegedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists. Cuba was originally designated as an SST in 1982 but was delisted in 2015 by President Barack Obama. Cuba’s SST designation follows increasingly stringent sanctions imposed by the US Government including restriction on remittances to Cuba and further restrictions on travel.

Legal Implications of the SST Designation- Cuba’s SST designation triggers the following sanctions and restrictions: A licensing requirement for exports or reexports of goods or technology that could significantly enhance Cuba’s military capability or ability to support terrorism; A prohibition on exports and reexports to Cuba of defense articles and defense services and related technology under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations; A requirement for the United States to oppose loans to Cuba by the World Bank and other international financial institutions; A prohibition on any assistance to Cuba under the Food for Peace, Peace Corps, and Export-Import Bank programs; A prohibition on US Persons (i.e., entities organized under US laws and their non-US branches; individuals and entities physically located in the United States; and US citizens and permanent resident aliens, wherever located or employed) from engaging in financial transactions with the Cuban government without a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, under the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations; and An exception to sovereign immunity that would allow individual US Persons to bring claims against the Cuban government in US courts for personal injury and death resulting from terrorism or material support for terrorism.

The legal implications of Cuba’s SST designation are likely to be limited. Many of the above activities have remained prohibited by US sanctions or export controls even after Cuba was delisted as an SST in 2015. For example, an SST designation normally triggers a change under the Export Administration Regulations to claim US jurisdiction over non-US items that incorporate more than 10% controlled US content rather than the 25% de minimis threshold used for most other countries. However, the Trump Administration imposed the 10% de minimis threshold on Cuba in October 2019 (see here) even though Cuba was not then an SST.

Increased Scrutiny for US-Listed Companies from the US Securities and Exchange Commission- Cuba’s SST designation may lead to increased scrutiny for US-listed companies if they engage in dealings with Cuba. Specifically, the Office of Global Security Risk (“OGSR”) within the US Securities and Exchange Commission may periodically request information from US-listed companies regarding material dealings with SST countries if such dealings have not been previously disclosed in a company’s regular annual and quarterly filings. Accordingly, US-listed companies that receive OGSR inquiries can now expect them to ask about Cuba transactions.”

LINK To Congressional Research Service (CRS) State Sponsors Of Terrorism Report