Nearly 600 parliamentarians from 73 countries have signed a joint letter calling on the United States to remove Cuba from its list of “state-sponsors of terrorism.” The letter, coordinated by the Progressive International (PI) and released today, denounces the designation as “cynical, cruel, and a clear violation of international law.”
The U.S. initially removed Cuba from the list in 2015 during the Obama administration following a thorough review, but the designation was reinstated in 2021 during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency. Cuba’s return to the list has subjected the country to extreme economic sanctions, restricting access to essential goods such as food and medicine. Despite earlier campaign promises to reverse the decision, President Joe Biden has not acted to remove Cuba from the list.
The signatories of the letter, including notable political figures such as former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Spain’s Podemos Ione Belarra, and President of Turkey’s Peoples’ Democratic Party Ertuğrul Kürkcü, argue that the sanctions are designed to maximize the suffering of the Cuban people. According to the letter, the designation undermines fundamental human rights, including the right to food, health, and education, and violates principles of international law.
“Cuba, far from sponsoring terrorism, has played a key role in facilitating peace talks between the Colombian government and rebel groups, such as the ELN and FARC,” the letter reads. The parliamentarians emphasize Cuba’s longstanding role as a mediator for peace in the region and highlight the broader geopolitical impact of its inclusion on the list.
In May 2024, the U.S. State Department removed Cuba from a separate list of states “not fully cooperating” with U.S. counterterrorism efforts, a move seen as a positive step. However, the parliamentarians argue that it falls short of what is necessary. They call on their respective governments to advocate for Cuba’s full removal from the “state-sponsor of terrorism” list, stating that the ongoing sanctions continue to harm the Cuban population and violate international norms.
The letter follows a similar appeal made earlier this year by 35 former heads of state, urging President Biden to act before his term ends.
The parliamentarians conclude by calling for an end to the “grave injustice” imposed on Cuba, advocating for its removal from the list in the name of “dignity, decency, and the integrity of the UN Charter.”
Full Text of the Letter:
We, the undersigned parliamentarians from across the globe, condemn the designation of Cuba as a “state-sponsor of terrorism” and call on our respective governments to take immediate action to advocate for its removal.
The United States’ designation of Cuba as a “state-sponsor of terrorism” is cynical, cruel, and a clear violation of international law.
The designation, removed in 2015 following a thorough evaluation by the Obama administration, was reapplied to Cuba on the very last days of the Trump presidency as a final act in his campaign of economic warfare against the island.
As a candidate, Joe Biden pledged to restore the diplomatic relationship fostered by his Democratic predecessor. But as president, Biden reneged — even after the Colombian government dropped the extradition charges against members of its National Liberation Army (ELN): the original justification for Trump to reapply the “state sponsor” designation.
The designation is therefore cynical because Cuba — far from sponsoring terrorism — has served as a key broker for peace talks between the Colombian government, the ELN, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The present talks mark one decade since Cuba convened the member-states of CELAC to declare the region a Zone of Peace, “based on respect for the principles and rules of International Law.”
The designation is cruel because it is designed to maximize the suffering of the people of Cuba, strangling its economy, displacing its families, and even restricting the flow of humanitarian aid. According to United Nations experts, the designation has undermined “[f]undamental human rights, including the right to food, right to health, right to education, economic and social rights, right to life and right to development.”
Finally, the designation is illegal because it undermines “the principle of sovereign equality of States, the prohibition to intervene into domestic affairs of states and the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes,” according to UN legal experts. The extreme, extraterritorial sanctions triggered by the designation thus mark a clear violation of international law.
In May 2024, the US State Department finally removed Cuba from the list of states that are “not fully cooperating” with the United States on counterterrorism efforts. But this is not enough. Cuba continues to suffer as a result of its cynical, cruel, and illegal exclusion from the international economy.
With this letter, we underline the urgency of removing Cuba from the list of “state-sponsors of terrorism” in the name of dignity, decency, and the integrity of the UN Charter — and call on our governments to use all diplomatic means to redress this grave ongoing injustice.
