During these exchanges, Cuba reaffirmed its “absolute rejection of the regulation issued by the (US) Department of State on this subject,” affirming its commitment to combating the “scourge” of terrorism.
Representatives of Cuba and the United States participated, over two days in Havana, in “technical” talks aimed at combating terrorism, the Interior Ministry of the communist island announced Friday.
This “technical exchange between the authorities” of the two countries in the field of “cooperation to combat terrorism” took place on Thursday and Friday in the Cuban capital, Havana, according to a ministry statement.
These meetings come at a time when Washington indicated a month ago that it does not intend to remove Cuba from the blacklist of countries supporting terrorism, in which the island was included in 2021 at the end of Republican President Donald Trump’s term during his presidential term (2017-2021).
During these exchanges, Cuba reaffirmed its “absolute rejection of the regulation issued by the (US) State Department on this subject,” stressing its commitment to combating the “scourge” of terrorism.
Trump decided to return Cuba to the black list of countries that support terrorism on the grounds that this country refused to hand over Colombian rebels from the leaders of the National Liberation Army who remained on its soil after the suspension of peace negotiations with Bogota.
They eventually left Cuba in 2022 to begin peace talks with the Colombian government, first in Caracas in November and then in Mexico in March.
Because of its presence on the blacklist, Cuba, which has also been subject to a trade and financial embargo imposed by Washington since 1962, faces great difficulties in carrying out international financial transactions that would allow it to import food and essential materials.
The communist island is suffering its worst economic crisis in thirty years, due to the combined effect of severe US sanctions, the repercussions of the Covid pandemic, and its internal structural weaknesses.
