A senior administration official told CNN that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to appoint in the coming days. A second official confirmed that bookings are taking place, although the timing is uncertain.
The Cuban government has already denounced the move, which is one of a series of daring initiatives the Trump administration is taking as it seeks to leave a lasting imprint on US foreign policy with just three weeks left before President Donald Trump leaves office.
Currently, only three other countries bear the US terrorism designation: Iran, North Korea and Syria. Sudan was recently removed from the list as part of its agreement to normalize ties with Israel.
Such a designation would impose restrictions on U.S. foreign aid, a ban on the defense’s exports and sales, certain export controls, and various financial restrictions. It will also lead to punishment against persons and countries involved in certain trade activities with Cuba.
The momentum to get through the designation has waned in recent months when one of the original advocates for the plan, Mauricio Claver-Carone – a hawkish Cuban-American lawyer – left the National Security Council to become president of the Inter-American To become Development Bank. .
Others in the government, including Elliott Abrams, Trump’s special envoy for Venezuela, and senior Western Hemisphere official Michael Kozak, as well as Republican senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, in Florida, all supported the idea – despite a lack of support from most of the Cuba bureau of the State Department, according to a former administration official.
‘Trash in the hotel room’
John Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said Cuba was once again on the list of state sponsors for terrorism in the Trump administration. “The Trump administration has changed the definition of ‘terrorism’ to include a government’s behavior towards its citizens – it is no longer just about an explosion or bombing. The Trump administration connects Cuba with the FARC and with the governments of China, Iran, Russia, Syria and North Korea. ‘
A U.S. diplomat with experience on Cuba issues downplayed the expected move, calling it “another example of hotel room waste on the way to the door.”
The diplomat, who was not authorized to speak on the record, noted that when the US and Cuba began relations under the Obama administration, Cuba’s presence on the state sponsor of the terrorist list was an obstacle for a while. took to overcome because it comes with legal restrictions on certain actions. ‘
“The fact that Cuba was on the list really made a mockery of the list – there was simply no good argument to be made that Cuba would sponsor terrorism,” the US diplomat said. “I know nothing that has changed in real terms since then – they just interpret things that fit politics.”
Although the designation of the Biden government is likely to be overturned by the designation, the diplomat said it could damage “our credibility with regard to the coup d’état”.
‘Shelter and impunity’
Cuban Secretary of State Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla on Wednesday “denounced” the expected designation, suggesting it was intended to “satisfy the anti-Cuban minority in Florida.”
“The United States is providing shelter and impunity to terrorist groups operating against Cuba from that area,” Rodriguez Parrilla wrote on Twitter.
Since taking office, Trump has sought to reverse the Obama administration’s efforts to end the Cold War hostility to Cuba, and to promote a new era of prosperity and growth for the country after decades of rule by the socialist Fidel Castro.
The Trump administration described Cuba as part of a so-called ‘Troika of Tyranny’, which included Venezuela and Nicaragua, and imposed imposing sanctions and other restrictions on all three countries in the name of combating socialism in the Western Hemisphere. A terrorist designation is likely to help Cuban Americans and other voters help Trump to victory in Florida, even though he eventually lost the election.
Critics of the Trump administration’s policies toward Cuba and Venezuela believe that sanctions and other crackdowns have only caused more suffering to the people of those countries, while having a limited impact on the regimes they target.
Elected President Joe Biden said during his campaign that if elected, he would “immediately reverse the failed Trump policy that harmed the Cuban people and did nothing to promote democracy and human rights.”
CNN’s Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report.