Congress Members Send Support Letter to Obama on Delisting Cuba of Terrorist List

A group of 43 democratic congress members sent this week a support letter to President Barack Obama for his decision of removing Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism that every year issues unilaterally the U.S. government.

“We applaud your decision to remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department List of States Sponsors of Terrorism", begins the letter dated May 6 and signed, among others, by the congress members Barbara Lee, José Serrano, Charles Rangel, Sheila Jackson Lee, James McGovern, Rosa DeLauro, and Kathy Castor.

"Removing Cuba from the list is in keeping with the paramount goal of protecting the homeland against threats against U.S. citizens or interests by state actors; it is consistent with modernizing Cuba policy", adds the letter.

It assures that in a few years, the reports of the Department of State on States Sponsors of Terrorism have found no evidence or indication that Cuba provides weapons or trains terrorists. "In fact, Cuba now meets the global standards for the fight against money-laundering and the preventing terrorism finance, besides playing an active role in the talks to have Colombia end the “civil war”, says the letter.

It remembers that, if the President doesn't make that decision, the United States would have had to face real costs. It says that the presence of Cuba in that list "diminishes the credibility of our antiterrorist policies. It forces the U.S. to spend unnecessary resources in Cuba at a moment in which are more necessary the efforts to protect homeland". On top of all this is added, the risk of keeping a source of diplomatic conflict between the U.S. and its allies whose business are subjected to very expensive sanctions due to commercial transactions with Cuba.

It concludes that the decision of removing Cuba from the List allows to "increasing our ability to cooperate with Cuba in combating security threats, terrorism, as well as natural and ecological disasters ".

Here the full text of the letter: