The document, released by the State Department, does not constitute, as it explains, “a new announcement regarding such designations,” but is rather a type of review that the White House is obliged to notify Congress each year.

Chapter 2 of the report – devoted to the “state sponsors of terrorism” – keeps Cuba in the list alongside the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran and Syria.

Cuba was added to the list in June 2020, which served as the basis for it to be designated months later, on January 11, 2021, on another of the arbitrary lists: that of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

A few days before the end of his term, the then-President Donald Trump (2017-2021) gave the final touch to his maximum pressure policy against Cuba by having his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, once again, including Cuba on a list from which the Barack Obama administration (2009-2017) had removed in 2015.

As expressed in a statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry regarding the 2021 report, this is a totally unfounded accusation used for political purposes, which attempts to justify the attacks against Cuba, including the inhumane economic, commercial and financial blockade.

The Ministry also rejected the unilateral and selective US practice of singling out countries in arbitrary lists with respect to terrorism, which lacks legitimacy and is contrary to International Laws and the Charter of the United Nations.

According to official data, Cuba has been the victim of 713 terrorist acts over the decades, most of them organized, financed and executed under the umbrella of the United States Government itself or by individuals and groups that act with impunity from the United States. It is estimated that 3,478 people lost their lives and 2,099 were disabled due to eventsactions of this nature.

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