Tell the White House: Cuba is not a Sponsor of Terror
WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean
English - July 15, 2022 16:30 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MB - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingPolitics News News Commentary Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Today’s Episode: Tell the White House: Cuba is not a Sponsor of Terror
Guest: activist, author and co-founder of CODEPINK, Medea Benjamin.
Background
In the last days of the outgoing Trump administration, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added Cuba back onto the list of state sponsors of terrorism, after it had been removed from the list in 2015 by the Obama-Biden administration. After a significant review, the Obama-Biden White House had certified that “(i) the Government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and (ii) the Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
Trump’s re-designation of Cuba to the list was purely a political move to please conservative Cuban-Americans. The excuse was that Cuba was purportedly providing safe haven for Colombian insurgents, but these insurgents were in Cuba because of the island’s role in facilitating the historic Peace Accords between the Colombian government and a guerrilla group. Insurgent activities years ago during Colombia’s civil strife does not fit the definition of international terrorism, and the guerilla representatives were in Cuba as part of an internationally recognized process of peace negotiations supported by the United States, Norway, Colombia and other nations.
By being on this list, Cuba is subjected to a series of sanctions and international financial restrictions that limit the nation’s ability to carry out critical financial transactions, including those needed to advance its efforts to combat the pandemic and reboot its economy.
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Additional Links
https://www.codepink.org/cuba-no-terror
In partnership with Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live