[ad_1]
The Secretary of State of the United States, Pompeo, places Cuba on the list of terrorists and torpedoes the rapprochement with Tehran. It’s about tying Joe Biden’s hands.
On January 20 they finished governing: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump.
Photo: Keystone
US President Donald Trump took refuge in the White House after storming the Capitol. But his chancellor creates facts in the last days of the president’s term. It put socialist Cuba back on the list of states that the United States believed promoted international terrorism. And he announced that the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen would be declared a terrorist organization.
Both decisions fit into the Trump administration’s agenda, but a few days before the change of power it seems that the main issue is tying the hands of Trump’s designated successor, Joe Biden. During Barack Obama’s presidency, Cuba was removed from the list in 2015, which otherwise only includes Syria, Iran and North Korea. Pompeo is trying to complicate the long-awaited rapprochement with Tehran with a barrage of sanctions.
Pompeo justified the action against Cuba with the fact that Havana was home to terrorists: on the one hand, combatants of the Colombian ELN, a guerrilla that fights against the Colombian government, but is weakened. On the other hand, Cuba supports former FARC combatants, another Colombian guerrilla that has officially laid down its arms. In addition, Cuba is helping the Venezuelan despot Nicolás Maduro.
Joe Biden should get Cuba off the terrorist list again.
For Cuba, which is in deep crisis due to U.S. sanctions, the pandemic and currency reform, Pompeo’s move is an additional blow. Banks and insurance companies can do even less business with the country. Trump could be on the verge of winning the Cuban exiles in Florida even more for himself and the Republicans. They have been celebrating him for his run against the island for years.
Trump’s successor, Biden, who was already executing a pro-Cuban policy as vice president under Barack Obama, should remove the country from the list again. But this will take a few months because a formal examination procedure is necessary.
It is unclear whether Biden will reverse the list of the Houthis. Pompeo justified them with mine attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, as well as cross-border attacks. Even for a democratic government, that is not easy to rule out. Biden could rely primarily on appeals from aid workers or efforts to restart the stalled peace process.
However, he made it clear that Saudi Arabia will have to face more pressure. Riyadh is fighting alongside the internationally recognized government against the Houthis, but above all it shares the tough stance of the United States towards Iran.
