Obama and Raul Castro in Panama for Summit (Video)
Obama Faces Latin American Opposition to Venezuela Sanctions as Cuba Joins Summit of the Americas
HAVANA TIMES – President Obama has arrived in Panama to attend the Summit of the Americas along with other leaders from Canada, Central America, South America, the Caribbean — and for the first time, Cuba. On Thursday, Obama announced the State Department has finished its review of whether Cuba should be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move would allow the two countries to reopen their embassies and move forward on historic efforts to normalize relations that were announced in December.
Meanwhile, the United States faces other tensions at the summit over its recent sanctions against Cuba’s close ally, Venezuela. An executive order signed by President Obama last month used the designation to sanction top Venezuelan officials over alleged human rights abuses and corruption.
This week, the United States announced it no longer considers the country a national security threat. Other topics expected to be on the summit’s agenda include trade, security and migration. We speak with two guests: Miguel Tinker Salas, professor of Latin American history at Pomona College and author of the new book, “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know,” and Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and president of Just Foreign Policy. His article in The Hill is headlined “Obama Could Face Disastrous Summit Due to Venezuela Sanctions.”
Oh well, in that case the USA has nothing to fear. The Cuba model (as Fidel himself pointed out) has never world, so it’s citizens, to this day, risk their lives to “float” to fredom. And Vemezuela? They’re banging pots and pans because they’re running out of food….not to mention toilet paper. That’s the true gift Cuna has given that nation.
….so like I said, nothing to worry about.
It’s all in who defines terrorism and how; the USA is terrified they will loose all or part of their profits from resource exploitation ventures anywhere the Cuban example succeeds, as in Venezuela, or at least inspires resistance, be it syndicalist, human rights based or outright armed. That is the only terrorism Cuba is guilty of. And oh yes, I forgot we defeated the South African Army in Cuito Canaval, Angola in 1987, freeing South Africa, Namibia and Angola from the Apartheid regime in one single battle, that definitely terrified the USA. As for the USA, the CIA confessed over a decade ago that its overseas operations had resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people since 1954, which is 108,000 people every year for 50 years…That is the Guinness World Record of Terrorism!
Obama is following the procedure required under the law to remove a state from the list. I have many differences with Mr. Obama, but here he is moving as fast as he can. The US built up a regiment of rules to govern it’s Cuba policy that needs dismantaling.
In classic Obama fashion he has failed to build a base of support in congress. So he has to this on his own. The man is doing what he can given his inability to deal productively with other branches of Gov. I for one am impressed at his success in this area.
I agree, Cuba does not belong on list. It stopped being any kind threat decades ago. The Cold War ended in 1989. The Soviet Union desolved in 1991. This a long time to hang on to a policy from the 1960’s.
The threat from Venezuela to the region is that the country is imploding. Maduro rules a wealthy country that is being mismanaged by corrupt self servers. Blaming the U.S. is just deflection. To save his country Maduro needs to work to restore democratic rule and put policies in place that allows the private sector to work.
Obama said that the US has finished its review of whether or not Cuba should be taken off the terrorist list .
I find it brazenly hypocritical for the world’s largest state terrorist organization to call Cuba a terrorist when it has never supported terrorism which is a tactic no one , even (near-Satan) Fidel, supports.
No one in the world seriously believes that Cuba is a terrorist state and Obama looks all the more foolish for even mentioning it publicly .
Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive .