The Obama administration removed Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. While not unexpected, this development adds to the momentum that Washington and Havana have gather in the last few months.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry rescinded Cuba’s designation as a terrorism sponsor at the end of a 45-day congressional notification period.
Jeff Rathke, US State Department representative, states that this move, “reflects our assessment that Cuba meets the statutory criteria for rescission.”
“While the United States has significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions,” Mr. Rathke said, “these fall outside the criteria relevant to the rescission of a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation.”
“I know that there’s one person in particular that hopes President Obama will be in Havana at some point in the relatively recent future, and that’s President Obama himself,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary.