its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a
largely symbolic step clearing the way for
normalizing diplomatic relations 54 years
after the U.S. severed ties after Cuba’s
communist revolution.
Removal from the list, announced by the
department on Friday in an e-mailed
statement, came as a matter of course
because Congress made no move to block
the action within 45 days after President
Barack Obama announced plans to do so on
April 14.
“While the United States has significant
concerns and disagreements with a wide
range of Cuba’s policies and actions, these
fall outside the criteria relevant to the
rescission of a State Sponsor of Terrorism
designation,” Jeff Rathke, a department
spokesman, said in the statement.
The two nations intend to reopen embassies
in Havana and Washington once officials
resolve points of contention, including U.S.
demands for freedom of movement for its
diplomats in the island nation and Cuba’s
concerns about U.S. democracy programs
that it says undermine the government in
Havana.
After those issues are resolved, the Obama
administration will give Congress 15 days’
notice of its intent to reopen an embassy in
Havana and will seek to name an
ambassador. While U.S. lawmakers opposed
to normalizing relations with Cuban
President Raul Castro’s government can’t
stop Obama from upgrading the U.S.
Interests Section in Havana to an embassy,
they may try to block or delay the
nomination of an ambassador to serve
there.
Bloomberg
No comments:
Post a Comment