US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decided to include Cuba in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, which already includes Iran, North Korea and Syria reports The New York Times citing sources.
This proposal was allegedly made by the employees of Department of State . Pompeo, in turn, must decide whether to approve the plan to include Cuba in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. Sources are not yet sure how he will proceed.
The New York Times suggests that this step will entail the imposition of US sanctions against the Cuban authorities, which will only complicate the work of the country’s president-elect Joe Biden . The democrat has repeatedly criticized the tough policy of the administration Donald Trump towards the island, in connection with which wants to remove the country from the list of sponsors of terrorism. However, this process will take several months.
In response to questions from the newspaper, a State Department spokeswoman said she would not comment on “discussions or potential solutions” regarding the list. The White House also did not answer questions about the publication.
Trump and his supporters have recently been trying to make decisions that will influence US policy under Biden in the first months of his rule. In particular, the White House discussed the strengthening of sanctions against China and Iran.
The states severed diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961 in response to the nationalization of American property. After that, Washington announced the imposition of a trade and economic embargo. Former US President Barack Obama in 2014 announced the normalization of bilateral relations, however the rapprochement ended in January 2017 when Donald Trump took over the United States.