Cuba could rejoin North Korea, Syria, and Iran on the United States’s list of terrorism sponsors just weeks before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.
State Department officials drafted a plan to designate the island nation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is weighing whether to sign off on the proposal, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Such a move would complicate Biden’s foreign policy goals as he plans to tamp down the pressure on Havana. The move would also trigger U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government, which could reportedly take months of review for the Biden administration to reverse.
According to the State Department, the sanctions would “include restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defense exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.”
When contacted about the report, the White House on Wednesday referred the Washington Examiner to the State Department, and a spokesperson there said the department does “not discuss deliberations or potential deliberations regarding designations.”
Democrats are already pushing back after the report about Cuba was released. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, who was elected to be the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, characterized the proposal as the Trump administration attempting to sabotage Biden.
“It’s another stunt by this president with less than 23 days to go,” he said. “He’s trying to put handcuffs on the incoming administration.”
Cuba was removed from the U.S. list of state terrorism sponsors in 2015 when then-President Barack Obama announced that the two countries would begin the process of normalizing relations. Since taking office, President Trump has criticized Cuba for its communist government and for its support of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.
