WLKY:
The U.S. State Department says Cuba has been taken off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. Secretary of State John Kerry has signed an order removing Cuba from the U.S. terrorism blacklist as part of the process of normalizing relations between the Cold War foes.
Kerry acted 45 days after the Obama administration informed Congress of its intent to do so. Lawmakers had that much time to weigh in and try to block the move, but did not do so. Cuba was first added to the list in 1982.
Bradenton Herald:
But 45 days ago Friday, as part of his opening toward Cuba, President Barack Obama informed Congress he intended to remove Cuba from the list that also includes Syria, Iran and Sudan. In his report, he said Cuba hadn’t provided any support for international terrorism in the previous six months and had provided assurances it wouldn’t support such acts in the future.
With no attempt by Congress to override his recommendation in the 45-day period, the president’s directive now takes effect as soon as it is published in the Federal Register.
“We are just two days away,” Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, told reporters in Havana on Wednesday during a visit to the island. “There has not been a vote in the Congress so that’s going to stand. I think it will be a matter of weeks when we have restored diplomatic relations.”
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Aleteia: Some are still not reconciled to the change, though. Menendez doesn't seem to realize that normalized relations might include extradition for crimes.
The Obama Administration is about to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, but a New Jersey Democrat says the move is premature, as Cuba is harboring terrorists right now.
"Today, only days before the Administration’s recommendation to remove Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism goes into effect, known terrorists continue to enjoy safe haven in Cuba," US Sen. Robert Menendez charged. "Joanne Chesimard, on the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list for murdering New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, and Charles Hill, wanted for killing a New Mexico State trooper and hijacking a U.S. civilian plane, are both living in Cuba, protected by the regime."
Menendez, a son of Cuban immigrants, made the charge during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday on “U.S. Cuba Relations—The Way Forward.” Menendez, a member of the committee, was its chairman in the 113th Congress.
New York Times: This was a key step to reopening diplomatic relations.
The United States has been insisting on assurances that its diplomats could move around Cuba freely and speak to whomever they wish, which the Cuban government often interprets as a way to strengthen the dissident movement.
The Americans also wanted guarantees that Cubans visiting the embassy in Havana would not be harassed by the police guarding it and that diplomatic shipments would not be subjected to tampering.
Cuba had been slow to agree to full diplomatic relations until it found a bank willing to handle its accounts in the United States and until it was removed from the American government’s list of states that sponsor international terrorism.