The decision is the latest in a series of conflicting U.S. approaches to Cuba by different administrations.
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Frances Robles / The New York Times
President Biden will remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, U.S. officials announced on Tuesday, as a part of a deal that is expected to free protesters jailed during a sweeping 2021 crackdown by the Communist government.
The decision by Mr. Biden is the latest in a number of environmental, immigration and foreign policy decisions taken in the final days of his presidency before President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to the White House. Removing Cuba would typically raise expectations of normalized relations between Washington and Havana.
But Mr. Biden’s decision is only the latest in a series of conflicting U.S. approaches to Cuba by different administrations. The Obama administration made the decision to remove Cuba from the list. But days before Mr. Trump left office in 2021, his administration placed Cuba back on it.
Mr. Biden’s move could help Cuba’s battered economy. Major banks had stopped doing business with Cuba because it was too much trouble to make sure that the country satisfied all the requirements to legally do business there.
It is unclear if Trump will reverse Mr. Biden’s decision.
The U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview Mr. Biden’s action, said the United States was removing Cuba from the list as part of an effort, pushed by the Catholic Church, to free jailed protesters.
They were detained after the government imposed a brutal crackdown following one of the largest demonstrations in Cuba since the Communist government took power roughly six decades ago by protesters angry over the nation’s spiraling economic decline.
Human rights groups say some of those arrested during and after the protests have been tortured and that many have been sentenced to long prison terms after unfair trials.
Many experts have long criticized Cuba’s inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
“The statute that creates the terrorism list specifies giving material support to terrorists or harboring terrorists who are actively engaged in terrorism while you are harboring them,” said William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University. “Cuba just hasn’t done those things.”
Several U.S. fugitives do reside in Cuba, but they should not count because they were Americans, were involved in politically motivated violence in the United States, and were not international terrorists, Mr. Leogrande said.
This
interview in Spanish by Camila Acosta of George Utset is related to the
explosion reported this week at a Cuban military installation. You may
view the news reported earlier here.
(Source: Noticias Cubanet)
Flight BBQ2241, carrying 54 passengers and three crew members, was scheduled to depart for Ignacio Agramonte International Airport in Camagüey, Cuba, at 11:40 a.m., Friday. The plane taxied for departure at 11:22 a.m. but returned to the gate due to an electrical odor detected inside the cabin.
Passengers evacuated the aircraft using emergency slides, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene.
Upon arrival, firefighters found no signs of a fire. However, out of caution, all passengers were safely evacuated, and firefighters assessed the situation.
Emergency crews are continuing to investigate the source of the odor, and firefighters are evaluating passengers for any potential injuries.
So far, no fire has been detected.
The island's Communist Armed Forces reported that the detonation shook the small rural community of Melones, in the eastern province of Holguín, 724 km southeast of Havana. The whereabouts of four officers and nine soldiers are unknown.
The island's Armed Forces reported that the detonation shook the small rural community of Melones, in the eastern province of Holguín, 724 km southeast of Havana. The whereabouts of four officers and nine soldiers are unknown.
Thirteen Cuban soldiers are missing after explosions that shook a weapons and ammunition depot in the eastern province of Holguín, the (Communist) Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba reported late Tuesday.
The explosions shook the small rural community of Melones on Tuesday morning, 724 km southeast of Havana. According to the authorities, the explosions were caused by a fire in a construction site.
The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces reported through its account on the social network Facebook that on Tuesday there were explosions in a work in which war material is stored as a result of a fire.
The first news of the incident in the official Cuban press emerged in the early hours of the morning. They stressed that the event does not offer danger to the community - and that the authorities were investigating the causes of the fire that caused the detonations.
The Cuban Army reported that the missing troops are four officers and nine soldiers, indicating that the families were informed by the Communist Party of Cuba. The Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces pay all possible attention to this situation and the investigations are continuing at the scene of the events, the institution added.
Videos posted on social media showed columns of dark smoke and flames above a grove near Melones.
Soldiers and local police monitored access routes to the site while rescue teams and firefighters worked to put out the flames.
As of early Tuesday, authorities reported that 361 people had been evacuated to a safe location following the explosion.
Edelweiss Air (Edelweiss is a sister carrier of SWISS and a member of the Lufthansa Group) will discontinue its Zurich-Havana route from March 2025 due to declining demand and operational challenges at Havana’s José Martí International Airport.
- Final Flight: The last Zurich-Havana service will operate on 27 February 2025.
- Customer Options: Affected passengers will be contacted for rebooking on alternative routes or offered a full refund.
-
Operational Challenges: An on-site evaluation revealed difficulties in
ensuring reliable long-haul operations at Havana airport. Declining
demand.
Edelweiss will continue weekly flights on
this route until the suspension and regrets any inconvenience caused to
its passengers.
(Source:
Aviation 24)