A statement issued by the Cuban Foreign Ministry affirms that Washington's petty political interests and a desperate need to justify at all costs the failed policy of blockade against our country have once again prevailed over rationality.
However, the U.S. State Department had no choice but to acknowledge in the same report that “in 2013, the Government of Cuba sponsored and supported negotiations between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government, aimed at achieving a peace agreement between the two sides.”
The State Department report also notes that “there is absolutely no information indicating that the Cuban government provided weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist groups," and that “members of Basque separatist groups, who reside on the Caribbean island, were resettled with the cooperation of the Spanish government.
The Cuban government reiterates that the national territory has never been used and never will be used to harbor terrorists of any origin, nor to organize, finance or perpetrate acts of terrorism against any country in the world, including the United States.
Likewise, Cuba unequivocally rejects and condemns all acts and forms of terrorism anywhere, regardless of the circumstances and motivations behind it.
In its latest statement, the Cuban Foreign Ministry demands the island's permament removal from the controversial list, which Cuba deems an affront to the dignity of the Cuban people and a discredit to the U.S. government itself.
Statement Issued by the Cuban Foreign Ministry
On April 30th, the U.S. State Department issued its 2013 report on State Sponsors of Terrorism, again reiterating the absurd designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism for the 32nd consecutive time.
However, the U.S. State Department had no choice but to acknowledge in the same report that “in 2013, the Government of Cuba sponsored and supported negotiations between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government, aimed at achieving a peace agreement between the two sides.”
The State Department report also notes that “there is absolutely no information indicating that the Cuban government provided weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist groups," and that “members of Basque separatist groups, who reside on the Caribbean island, were resettled with the cooperation of the Spanish government.
But again, petty political interests and a desperate need to justify at all costs the failed policy of blockade against our country, which is unanimously condemned and rejected by the International Community, have prevailed over rationality.
Washington's sole pretext to support its slanderous accusation against Cuba this time was the presence in our country of 'fugitives' from U.S. Justice, none of whom had been accused of terrorism. While some of these individuals were legitimately granted asylum, others who committed crimes in the United States were duly tried and convicted, but they decided to stay and reside in Cuba after completing their sentences.
The Cuban government reiterates that the national territory has never been used and never will be used to harbor terrorists of any origin, nor to organize, finance or perpetrate acts of terrorism against any country in the world, including the United States.
Likewise, Cuba unequivocally rejects and condemns all acts and forms of terrorism anywhere, regardless of the circumstances and motivations behind it.
The Government of the United States is the one resorting to state terrorism as a weapon against countries that oppose US domination. It is the one using such reprehensible methods as torture and advanced military techology, including drones, to carry out the extrajudicial execution of presumed terrorists, even U.S. citizens. They have claimed countless innocent lives among the civilian population.
Cuba is one of those countries, which for defending its independence and national dignity has for many decades suffered the consequences of terrorist acts, organized, financed and perpetrated from U.S. soil, and which have claimed 3,478 lives and left 2,099 others permanently disabled.
Cuba, Latin America, the Caribbean and the world will never forget that the United States continues providing refuge to terrorists of Cuban origin, like Luis Posada Carriles, the mastermind behind the first ever terrorist act against civil aviation in the Western Hemisphere, and which resulted in the mid-air bombing of a Cubana de Aviación plane off the costs off Barbados on October 6, 1976, killing all 73 people on board. Paradoxically, it keeps Cuban anti-terrorist fighters Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero unjustly held in US jails, serving extremely long sentences for crimes they did not commit.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry categorically rejects the manipulation of such a sensitive issue as terrorism as a mere tool of U.S. policy against Cuba and demands our nation's permament removal from the spurious, unilateral and arbitrary list, which constitutes an affront to the dignity of the Cuban people and discredits the U.S. government itself.
