The U.S. government kept Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria on the 2022 State Sponsors of Terrorism List, a document released Nov. 30 by the State Department.
To designate a country as a state sponsor of terrorism, the Secretary of State must determine that that country’s government has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism.
Once a country is designated, it remains a state sponsor of terrorism until the designation is removed in accordance with legal criteria requiring presidential certification that: a) a designated country has not supported any act of international terrorism in the past six years Terrorism has committed months and has pledged that it will not support international terrorist attacks in the future, or 2) there has been a fundamental change in the leadership and policies of the designated country, the country does not support international terrorist attacks and has pledged that there will not be any in the future will provide more support for international acts of terrorism.
On January 12, 2021, the State Department designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism after determining that it “repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism by providing safe haven to terrorists.”
Cuba was designated a state sponsor of terrorism back in 1982 due to “its long history of providing advice, refuge, communications, training and financial support to guerrilla groups and individual terrorists.”
Also read: If Cuba wants to “improve relations,” it must make progress on human rights issues, US insists
The designation was revoked in 2015 after a thorough review found the land met the legal criteria for termination.
In 2021, the Secretary of State noted that Cuba “has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism in the six years since its designation was revoked.” Citing peace negotiation protocols, Cuba rejected Colombia’s request to extradite 10 Havana-based communist ELN guerrilla leaders after that group claimed responsibility for the 2019 Bogota bombing of a Havana police academy that killed 22 people and injured 87 others were injured.
Furthermore, the report highlights that “the Cuban government has not officially responded to the extradition requests submitted by Colombia of ELN leaders Víctor Orlando Cubides (alias “Pablo Tejada”) and Ramírez Pineda (alias “Pablo Beltrán”).
In November, following orders from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the Attorney General announced that arrest warrants would be suspended for 17 ELN commanders, including those whom Colombia had previously requested extradition.
According to the report, Cuba continues to host several American refugees wanted for political violence, many of whom have lived in Cuba for decades.
Also read: US senators present a project that would make official policy a prerequisite for the extradition of fugitives in Cuba
Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel has called on the US to remove his country from the terror blacklist, the inclusion of which has serious economic implications.
In November, Chilean President Gabriel Boric called on President Joe Biden to change measures. “It is imperative to lift sanctions against Cuba and remove Cuba from the list of countries that support terrorism,” he said after meeting Biden at the White House. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico, made similar statements.
Last October, the United States suggested that Cuba needed to improve its human rights record if it wanted to advance bilateral relations.
In response to a statement from the Cuban government on terrorism, a State Department spokesperson also noted that U.S. law sets specific legal criteria for revoking the “country sponsoring terrorism” designation and that any review of Cuba’s status would do so based on the laws and criteria established by Congress.
Despite the Biden administration’s position, some US politicians support removing Cuba from the list.
For example, Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern said that one step the United States can take to exonerate Cuba is to “remove the country from the terrorism list” because “there is absolutely no reason for Cuba to be on it.” List is there. Nobody.”
NORTH KOREA
On November 20, 2017, the Secretary of State designated the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. The minister noted that the government has repeatedly supported international acts of terrorism as they are involved in assassinations on foreign soil.
IRAN
Iran was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984 and continued its support of terrorist activities in 2022, including support for Hezbollah, U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and various terrorist and militant groups in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, and Syria throughout the Middle East.
Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force to support terrorist organizations, cover related covert operations, and create instability in the region.
Iran has recognized the involvement of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. This unit “is Iran’s main mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorist activities abroad.”
SYRIA
Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979 and continued its political and military support for various terrorist groups, the State Department report said.
The regime continued to “supply weapons and political support to Hezbollah and continued to allow Iran to arm and finance the terrorist organization.”
The Bashar al-Assad regime’s relations with Hezbollah and Iran remained strong in 2022, “as the regime continued to rely heavily on external actors to combat adversaries and secure territory.”
The US-appointed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “remains present and active in the country with Assad’s permission.” Assad remained a strong supporter of Iranian policies, while Iran was equally strong in supporting the Syrian regime. The Syrian regime’s speeches and press releases often included statements of support for terrorist groups, particularly Hezbollah, and vice versa.”