Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s plans to remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism have been welcomed by Barbados’ Caribbean envoy, but concerns remain about the continuation of other sanctions against the communist regime.
Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong urged for more comprehensive measures to alleviate the economic pressure on Havana, kept largely in place since US President John F Kennedy’s imposition of a widespread embargo in 1962.
He was responding to news on Tuesday that Washington intends to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and reverse a Donald Trump-era order that restricted certain financial transactions involving military and government-affiliated Cubans – one week before Trump returns to power as the 47th US president.
Ambassador Comissiong told Barbados TODAY: “While we welcome the fact that these measures are being taken, especially removal of Cuba from the State Department’s list of sponsors of terrorism, there is still great cause for concern that the bulk of the financial and economic sanctions would still remain in place.
“The other thing that would cause us some apprehension is that President Trump would still have the power to reverse these welcomed measures taken by President Biden.
“We have good cause for apprehension because it was said that President Trump during the dying days of his first administration, unjustifiably put Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. It gives us pause to note that President Trump has nominated the Cuban American Senator Marco Rubio as his choice for Secretary of State and Marco Rubio as we all know is extremely hostile towards Cuba and the Cuban Revolution in particular.”
But the CARICOM ambassador insisted that US officials have long known behind closed doors that the sanctions against Cuba have been punitive at best, particularly in the face of strong opposition from CARICOM nations and its partners.
“President Biden knew it was wrong, the administration knew it was wrong – throughout the four years of the Biden administration, the CARICOM leaders were pressing him to remove the blockade,” said Ambassador Commission. “They did so at the UN, they did so when they met him at the Summit of the Americas [and] they did so via a confidential letter that was written to him.
“The question would then arise, why do they still impose this punitive policy that they know is wrong. They themselves would tell you that it comes down to domestic electoral politics.”
He noted that in pivotal electoral states such as Florida and Texas, there still remains very strong hostility from Cuban exile communities to the Cuban government. This stance often prevents political parties from taking a relaxed stance towards Cubans, according to Ambassador Comissiong.
Despite these difficulties, he stressed that lifting of some of the sanctions was a positive step, and he remained confident that as long as CARICOM nations keep on pressuring US administrations, further restrictions on Cuba can be lifted.
The US economic embargo against Cuba – described by Havana as a blockade — began on October 19, 1960, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower imposed a partial embargo on exports to Cuba, excluding food and medicine. The embargo was further strengthened and made more comprehensive on February 7, 1962, when President Kennedy issued Proclamation 3447, which extended the embargo to include almost all imports from Cuba.
CARICOM has consistently opposed the US embargo on Cuba since the bloc’s inception in 1973. It has consistently backed general assembly votes at the United Nations calling for the lifting of the restrictions on travel and trade between the US and its island neighbour 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
The post As US eases Cuba sanctions, CARICOM ambassador says go further appeared first on Barbados Today.
