South Centre Statement on the Inclusion of Cuba on the List of Country Sponsors of Terrorism by the Trump Administration in January 2025 The recent decision by the Donald Trump administration in January 2025 to reinstate Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism has raised criticisms and reactions in the international community highlighting the stark injustice of this decision. Surprisingly, this action reverses the decision taken by the United States under the Joe Biden administration just a few days earlier, when Cuba was removed from the list.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canal called the reinstatement an “act of arrogance and contempt for the truth”, noting that this action confirms the discrediting of the US government's unilateral lists and mechanisms of coercion.
Analysts and human rights organizations have expressed concern about the implications of this decision. Being on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism carries out severe financial consequences, which ultimately penalize the Cuban people. This arbitrary and illegal decision, coupled with the more than 60-year-old embargo, contributes to the worsening of the crisis affecting the Cuban people, with shortages of food, medicine and fuel and prolonged power cuts, while making it difficult or impossible for the country, or those who wish to invest in it, to obtain international financing.
This decision has been taken without any credible evidence that Cuba has been supporting international terrorism, as required under the US law invoked by the US administration.
This unjustifiable decision constitutes a violation of international law that aggravates the already delicate economic and social situation of the island. The South Centre joins the voices of the international community in strongly rejecting this arbitrary and unjust measure