Armstrong maintains that Cuba is not a country that sponsors terrorism.

Havana, Oct 20 (RHC) According to a U.S. news source half a dozen former U.S. government intelligence officials believe that the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism is unjustified.

People related to the design of the policy towards the island, both in the Republican and Democratic administrations, also alleged how the "consensus position" in the U.S. intelligence community agrees that the nation does not sponsor terrorism.

Fulton Armstrong, former National Intelligence Officer for Latin America, described the designation as "bogus" in an interview with NBC News.

For his part, Larry Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to then Secretary of State Colin Powell in the administration of former President George W. Bush (2001-2009), stated that the Caribbean country is not a state sponsor of terrorism.

"It is a fiction that we have created... to reinforce the logic of the blockade," he said.

The inclusion of Cuba in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, in addition to being unjustified, damages the national security interests of the United States, also considered Ben Rhodes (in the photo), who was deputy National Security Advisor to former President Barack Obama (2009-2017).

Ben Rhodes was Deputy National Security Advisor to former President Barack Obama (2009-2017)

He told NBC News that using that designation for purely U.S. political purposes concerning Cuba is wrong and delegitimizes the purpose of the rule, designed to punish those whom Washington targets as alleged supporters of terrorism.

Meanwhile, American University of Washington professor William LeoGrande found ironic Cuba´s inclusion on the list coming from a country that does carry out attacks against the island.

"In the 1960s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sponsored assassination attempts, sabotage, and paramilitary raids against Cuba, what today would be called state-sponsored terrorism. Furthermore, Cuban exiles trained by that organization continued the attacks for decades to come," he said.

Washington removed Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism in 2015 during the Obama administration, where it had been since 1982, but the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021) put it back on nine days before the end of his term.

At that time, the White House alleged that Havana provided asylum to leaders of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN), who had been offered safe haven as part of peace negotiations with the South American country's government, facilitated by Cuba and Norway, and backed by the Obama administration and the Vatican.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. Photo: granma. cu

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez stated that the designation of Cuba as a nation sponsoring terrorism increases the country's risk and implies paying between a third or double to acquire supplies for any merchandise.

He affirmed that the few suppliers that have decided to maintain relations with Cuba have increased prices, and at the same time, the United States applies intimidation and persecution measures against fuel supply companies. (Source: PL)