U.S. relations with Cuba depend on terror list removal


Fifty-five years ago, Fidel Castro made a deal with the Soviet Union and publicly denounced “Yankee imperialism.” For President Dwight Eisenhower, that was enough to justify cutting off all trade with Cuba, and later all diplomatic relations, in the name of ending communism.

Following the embargo, the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis proved that the sanctions were necessary in that context. But now, decades later, Cuba is still communinst, impoverished and separated from the world.

While the country’s embargo was originally related to solely thwarting the spread of communism, the country is now considered to be a state sponsor of terrorism. This designation was put into place when the country supported ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia decades ago. The State Department’s most recent report on the countries under this designation, however, presented very little evidence that Cuba is still a state sponsor of terrorism.

In fact, the report only mentions one terrorist organization in communication with Cuba, ETA, and then states that they are currently eliminating ties with ETA. The report also discusses Cuba’s influence in peace talks between FARC and Columbia, and explicitly states “there was no indication that the Cuban government provided weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist groups.”

The other countries on the United State’s terror list are Iran, Syria and Sudan. Iran’s offenses include directly aiding terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hizballah, Shia militant groups and many others, as well as failing to prosecute Al Qaeda members and operating a nuclear program that is outside the boundaries designated by the international community. Sudan harbors Al Qaeda, the Lord’s Resistance Army and Hamas members. Syria’s offenses are no better, as they feature a chemical weapons program and support for organizations such as Al Qaeda.

Just one skim through the report makes it clear that the other countries on this list present clear terrorist threats and that Cuba does not.

Our problem with Cuba, then, is not a terrorist problem; rather, it is a personal problem. Because most of our country’s leaders were around during the Cold War, the United States is still operating under outdated Cold War ideology. Cuba is still seen as a country that needs to be monitored closely like a time bomb.

The United States used to be afraid of Cuba, which we labeled communist. The only difference is that now we are afraid of Cuba and calling them terrorists.

The issue with this logic is that they are not a threat to us as either terrorists or communists. “At a time when we are focused on threats from Al Qaeda to ISIL, a nation that meets our conditions and renounces the use of terrorism should not face this sanction,” President Barack Obama said of Cuba in December.

Instead of sanctioning Cuba, we should instead be engaging in diplomacy with them on how to repair their economy.

Under the Bush administration, the United States claimed to be fighting for freedom in Cuba by keeping embargos in place. But there have been no successful revolutions against the Castro regime as the United States hoped. This leaves Cuba still poor and still communist.

If what the United States wants is better conditions in Cuba, releasing Cuba from the terror list must be its first step. The sanctions we have in place have clearly not improved anything for the country, and an embargo lift could be the start to a diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

Claire Cahoon is a sophomore majoring in English. “Point/Counterpoint” runs Tuesdays.