Twelve Days Later, The Designation Of Cuba As A State Sponsor Of Terrorism Is Published In The Federal Register
/Federal Register
Washington DC
22 January 2020
4:24 am (EST)
DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 11332] Republic of Cuba Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) In accordance with section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)), and as continued in effect by Executive Order 13222 of August 17,2001, section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Public Law 87–195, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2371(c)), and section 40(f) of the Arms Export Control Act, Public Law 90–629, as amended (22U.S.C. 2780(f), I hereby determine that the Republic of Cuba has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. This notice shall be published in the Federal Register. Dated: January 12, 2021. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State. [FR Doc. 2021–01416 Filed 1–21–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710–AD–P
LINK To Federal Register Notification
On 11 January 2021, the United States Department of State returned the Republic of Cuba to the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
Such designation would suggest an issue of significance and be important for the United States Department of State to publish changes, publish filings, and most critically make certain information is timely and accurate…
On 15 January 2021, the United States Department of State revised on its Internet site the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism to include the Republic of Cuba. LINK
As of 16 January 2021, the United States Federal Register did not show a new filing relating to including the Republic of Cuba on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
NOTE: On 14 January 2021, an on-the-record statement was requested from the United States Department of State. The question was what, if any notification was made by the United States Department of State to the United States Congress prior to designating the Republic of Cuba on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Despite repeated multi-day attempts, the United States Department of State would only provide off-the-record statements.
From The United States Department Of State
“Countries determined by the Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism are designated pursuant to three laws: section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act. Taken together, the four main categories of sanctions resulting from designation under these authorities include restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defense exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.
Designation under the above-referenced authorities also implicates other sanctions laws that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with state sponsors. Currently there are three countries designated under these authorities: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) on 20 November 2017; Islamic Republic of Iran on 19 January 1984; Syrian Arab Republic on 29 December 1979.”
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.
