[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 22, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S299-S300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  CUBA

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, in his last week in office, President Biden 
removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, a 
designation imposed by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the 
final days of the first Trump administration. That designation has 
caused, directly and indirectly, great hardship for the Cuban people 
who are currently experiencing the worst poverty in a generation. At 
the same time, the designation, and the other sanctions imposed by the 
United States, have achieved none of the intended goals. Cuba remains a 
one-party state where political dissent is not tolerated.
  President Biden rightly determined there is no evidence that Cuba 
sponsors international terrorism. That has been true for many years, 
and his decision was long overdue. But the reaction of those who have 
supported the terrorism designation was predictable. When asked if Cuba 
is a sponsor of terrorism, now-Secretary of State Rubio answered, 
``Without question.''
  If the facts and the law supported that claim, I would agree. But the 
State Sponsor of Terrorism designation has become a transparently 
political determination, not one based on the facts or the law.
  Under the law, countries determined by the Secretary of State to have 
``repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism'' are 
designated as state sponsors. There is no ambiguity. The law explicitly 
refers to ``international terrorism.'' But even those who claim Cuba 
belongs on the list of state sponsors have failed to produce any 
evidence that it supports acts of international terrorism. Instead, 
they cite Cuba's harboring of American fugitives from justice, none of 
whom were charged or convicted of international terrorism. They cite 
Cuba's support for the Maduro government in Venezuela, which has not 
been designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. And they cite the role 
that Cuba has played, like Norway, as a facilitator of negotiations 
between the FARC and, more recently, the ELN and the Colombian 
Government, which has called for Cuba to be removed from the list.
  There is plenty to dislike about the Cuban Government. It represses 
dissidents and mismanages its economy. It consistently blames the U.S. 
for its own failures. But there is plenty of blame to go around, and 
our policy of sanctions, isolation, and hostility has unquestionably 
contributed to the daily hardships suffered by the Cuban people.

[[Page S300]]

  It is therefore very disappointing that President Trump, in an 
executive order on his first day in office, redesignated Cuba as a 
State Sponsor of Terrorism. He was once again pressured to do so, as he 
was during his first term, by the same vocal minority who believe that 
by making the lives of the Cuban people as miserable as possible they 
will topple the government.
  By doing so President Trump has made a mockery of the list of states 
that do sponsor international terrorism, like Iran and North Korea. It 
is not a list of pariah countries. It is not a list of countries whose 
governments violate human rights. Under the law, it is not even a list 
of countries that support domestic terrorism. Cuba does not belong on 
the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, and by relisting Cuba, the 
President has ignored the law.

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