United States Officially Removes Cuba from List of State Sponsored Terror David Francis - Foreign Policy
go to original May 29, 2015

Cuba Officially Removed From U.S. State Sponsor of Terror List (wochit News)

The United States took another step toward normalization of relations with Cuba on Friday, officially removing its onetime Communist foe from its official list of state sponsors of terror.

The White House initiated a 45-day congressional review of Cuba’s status on April 14, so Friday’s announcement is not a surprise. But it’s an important symbolic step as President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro try to thaw more than five decades of frozen diplomatic ties.

Republicans long ago conceded Cuba would be removed from the list and vowed not to fight it. “We can’t undo it,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) told Foreign Policy in an interview in April.

Getting rid of the terror designation is an important part of the ongoing process but additional hurdles remain. The State Department has yet to announce a site for the new U.S. Embassy in Havana, where it has had an interest section for more than 30 years. Obama also has yet to nominate an ambassador to Cuba, an appointment that is expected to face a tough fight in the Senate. There, anti-Castro lawmakers and 2016 GOP presidential contenders Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have vowed to block any nomination to the post.

The Senate must confirm all ambassador appointments.

Read the rest at Foreign Policy

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