Cuba Welcomes the “Right Decision” from Obama

Havana road sign.  Photo: Lauren Bell
Havana road sign. Photo: Lauren Bell

HAVANA TIMES — Cuba welcomed the “right decision” from the Obama administration on Tuesday to pull the island off the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism, a move that could accelerate the diplomatic thaw between the two countries.

“The government of Cuba acknowledges the legitimate decision of the President of the United States (Barack Obama) to remove Cuba from a list that it never should have been included on,” reads a statement issued by Josefina Vidal, the chief negotiator of the island in conversations with the United States.

Obama informed the US Congress on Tuesday of his decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring international terrorism prepared periodically by the State Department. Cuba was included on the list since 1982. Under US law, the decision to remove Cuba takes effect in 45 days.

The move is seen as a key step in the historical process of diplomatic rapprochement announced by both countries in December. The governments of Washington and Havana have been holding meetings since late January on the planned reopening of embassies in both capitals.

Obama predicted last weekend during the Summit of the Americas in Panama that he would “soon” make a decision on the list, after the State Department announced it had completed the review commissioned by the president.

Obama met on Saturday April 11th with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro in Panama, in an unprecedented meeting, the first of its kind in over half a century. It was seen as another important step in the bilateral diplomatic thaw, which began with the two leaders surprise announcement on December 17, 2014.

3 thoughts on “Cuba Welcomes the “Right Decision” from Obama

  • These kinds of attacks sponsored by the Castros are likely to get worse. Thug regimes like the Castros see peaceful rapprochement as weakness and tend to charge forward with a feeling of impunity. The silver lining is that there will be a tipping point. Cubans will tire of being abused and no longer accept that these abuses are because of the need to protect Cuba from their evil northern neighbor. The only question is when.

  • Do you have proof of your claim that it was positively. RAUL CASTRO ORDERED HIS SO CALLED GOONS TO ATTACT TWO CUBAN DISSIDENTS?

  • In a generous act designed to demonstrate his appreciation of President Obama’s decision to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, Raul Castro ordered his goons to attack two Cuban dissidents:

    Placetas, Villa Clara 14 April 2015. Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana. Jorge Luís García Perez “Antunez”, reports via telephone that State Security has ordered the residents of Placetas to carry out a violent act of repudiation in retaliation for his participation in acts of protest against the Castro regime last week at the Summit of the Americas in Panama.

    “A large mob surrounds my house. I’m here with former political prisoner Iván Fernandez Depestre and I want to let the world know that my wife Yedier Rodriguez’s son and his girlfriend –both minors — are also in the house with me. Castroite mobs organized as a reprisal for our victory over similar mobs in Panama are also being sent to the home of Sakharov Prize recipient and journalist Guillermo Fariñas. In the city of Placetas all workers have been given the day off and threatened with the loss of their salary if they refuse to participate in an act of repudiation. All the schools have been closed too, and the students threatened with expulsion.”

    http://www.directorio.org/comunicadosdeprensa/note.php?note_id=4405

    What exactly has Obama achieved?

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