U.S. Department Of State Issues 2020 Country Reports On Terrorism- Cuba Included; Media Ask Questions Which Mostly Go Unanswered
/The Washington Post
Washington DC
16 December 2021
"Asked Thursday about Cuba’s continued presence on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, the State Department’s acting coordinator for counterterrorism John T. Godfrey said “the Cuba policy and the designation” are “under review.” He spoke to reporters after the State Department’s 2020 Country Report on Terrorism."
Cuba
Overview: Cuba was designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1982 because of its long history of providing advice, safe haven, communications, training, and financial support to guerrilla groups and individual terrorists. This designation was rescinded in 2015 after a policy review found Cuba met the statutory requirements for rescission. Cuba maintains close and collaborative ties with designated state sponsors of terror such as Iran and North Korea. Citing peace negotiation protocols signed by Colombia in 2016 that stipulated safe passage for ELN negotiators back to Colombia, the Cuban regime continued to permit ELN negotiators associated with now-defunct peace talks to reside in Cuba, despite Colombia’s repeated requests for their extradition. Cuba also continues to harbor multiple fugitives who committed or supported acts of terrorism in the United States.
2020 Terrorist Incidents: There were no terrorist attacks within Cuba in 2020.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Citing peace negotiation protocols, Cuba refused Colombia’s request to extradite 10 ELN leaders living in Havana after that group claimed responsibility for the 2019 bombing of a Bogotá police academy that killed 22 persons and injured 87 others. The Cuban government did not formally respond to the 2019 extradition requests for ELN leaders Victor Orlando Cubides (aka “Pablo Tejada”) and Israel Ramírez Pineda (aka “Pablo Beltrán”) filed by Colombia.
Cuba also harbors several U.S. fugitives from justice wanted on charges related to political violence, many of whom have resided in Cuba for decades. For example, the Cuban regime refused to return Joanne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur, a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List, who was convicted of executing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. Cuba also refused to return William “Guillermo” Morales, a fugitive bomb maker for the Armed Forces for National Liberation, who is wanted by the FBI and escaped detention after being convicted of charges related to domestic terrorism; Ishmael LaBeet, aka Ishmael Muslim Ali, who received eight life sentences after being convicted of killing eight persons in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1972 and hijacking a plane to flee to Cuba in 1984; Charles Lee Hill, who has been charged with killing New Mexico state policeman Robert Rosenbloom in 1971; Ambrose Henry Montfort, who used a bomb threat to hijack a passenger aircraft and fly to Cuba in 1983; and Víctor Manuel Gerena, a Puerto Rican militant who stole $7 million in a bank heist. Cuba is also believed to host or has hosted U.S. fugitive terrorists Catherine Marie Kerkow and Elizabeth Anna Duke.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Cuba is a member of the GAFILAT, a FATF-style regional body. Its FIU, the Directorate General of Financial Transactions Investigation, is a member of the Egmont Group. There were no significant updates in 2020.
Countering Violent Extremism: Cuba conducted no CVE efforts in 2020.
International and Regional Cooperation: Cuba is not an active member of the OAS.
United States Department of State
Washington DC
16 December 2021
John T. Godfrey, Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Acting Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Bureau of Counterterrorism, On the 2020 Country Report on Terrorism
Via Teleconference (excerpts):
MR ICE: Okay. And let’s go to the line of Shaun Tandon.
OPERATOR: Thank you. Your line is open, Mr. Tandon. Go ahead, sir.
QUESTION: Thank you. Thanks for doing the call. Could I ask a question about Cuba? In Chapter 2, State Sponsors of Terrorism, I know it says very clearly that this report doesn’t constitute an announcement, but there’s no information on Cuba on actions that could make it a state sponsor of terrorism. Could you say whether the administration still thinks that Cuba should be designated a state sponsor of terrorism and where any review on that designation is? Thanks.
MR GODFREY: Sorry, having trouble with my mute button there. What I can say about that is that the Cuba policy and the designation you referenced are under review.
MR ICE: And let’s go the line of Daphne Psaledakis.
OPERATOR: Daphne, your line is open. Go ahead, please.
QUESTION: Hi. Thank you so much for doing this. I just wanted to follow up on Shaun’s question about the Cuba State Sponsors of Terrorism review. Could you give us an update on the timeline of that policy review?
MR GODFREY: I’m afraid that I don’t have anything that I can share in terms of sort of an end date or an anticipated end date with respect that review. It’s ongoing and President Biden has said that he remains committed to policies that will advance the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people. But beyond that, I don’t have anything in terms of timing.
MR ICE: Okay. And now let’s go to the line of Beatriz Pascual.
QUESTION: Hi. Thank you very much. So following up on Cuba, I would like to know how high is the review in the list of the priorities for the State Department. And also I would like to ask about las FARC and Venezuela. If you could talk a little bit about what is included in the report about the relation between the dissidents of las FARC, ELN, and the government of Nicolas Maduro? Thank you.
MR GODFREY: Thanks, Beatrice. Maybe to start with the second part, the United States is quite concerned about the continued presence of foreign terrorist organizations in Latin America, including the National Liberation Army, the ELN, and FARC dissidents in both Colombia and Venezuela. We’ve long considered the ELN an FTO, a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and remain concerned about its arms – possession of arms, trafficking of narcotics, kidnapping of innocent individuals, and its attacks on Colombian officials. We have already taken a number of steps to convey our concerns about Venezuela, including the annual certification of Venezuela as not fully cooperating with U.S. antiterrorism efforts. And that’s been something that’s happened every year since 2006, so this is not a new concern. And that certification, which was most recently renewed just this past May, extends the resulting prohibition against the sale or licensing for export of defense articles or services to Venezuela. The Country Reports on Terrorism that we’re talking about in this conversation covers foreign terrorist organizations that were designated during calendar year 2020, and so it doesn’t reflect any changes that occurred in 2021. And that would include the new FTO designations of Segunda Marquetalia and FARC-EP and the revocation of the designation of the former FARC.
