Editorial statement of the Workers' Party in Austria
US President Donald Trump has reversed the recent removal of Cuba from the US terror list - and thus intensified the already massive repression against the socialist island state. Just a few days ago, Joe Biden had removed Cuba's classification as a so-called “terrorist supporter” as a “gesture of goodwill”. But as soon as he was sworn in, Trump reversed this step in a series of decrees.
The classification of Cuba on a list together with Syria, Iran and North Korea is often perceived in the Western media as merely symbolic politics. In fact, this step has massive economic consequences, as investments in Cuba are made much more difficult. Four years ago - during his first term in office - Trump had already declared the country to be a “state sponsor of terrorism”, thus once again accelerating the decades of blockade measures and sanctions.
The Biden administration had originally announced that Cuba would only be permanently removed from the list in exchange for the release of 553 prisoners detained in the course of the 2021 anti-Cuba protests. Cuba in turn announced the release of these prisoners. Several prisoners have already been released in recent days, including the dissident Daniel Ferrer. However, this gesture was clearly not enough for Trump, who reaffirmed his opposition to Cuban socialism and tightened the sanctions spiral once again.
While Trump invokes his political orchestration and his new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that “all the requirements are met to be a state sponsor of terrorism”, this decision is causing international outrage. Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles who rejected Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, is pushing for a tough stance against Havana - in line with the influential anti-Cuban lobby in the USA.
Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned Trump's move as “arrogance and disregard for the truth”, while he sees its aim as “further accelerating the cruel economic war against Cuba [...]”. Once again it is clear that any policy of rapprochement between Washington and Havana can be overturned in a matter of seconds in favor of an aggressive line.
China has also taken Trump's latest decree as an opportunity to voice harsh criticism. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun spoke of a “demonstration of tyranny” and emphasized that the US terror list contradicts the facts and reveals the “hegemonic, autocratic and tyrannical face of the United States”.
The new sanctions and the renewed classification of Cuba as a supporter of terrorism are part of a long tradition of US aggression against the socialist island. From the economic embargo to the “regime change” discourse and targeted political campaigns - the blockade policy represents a permanent attack on Cuba's sovereignty, economy and society.
Recent events show once again that Cuban interests have no place in Washington's imperial agenda. Instead, the island is being used as a pawn in domestic power struggles and media propaganda. The political calculation is obvious: economic and social progress in Cuba is to be prevented, the population forced into grueling hardship and the country brought to its knees.
In Europe in particular - and especially in Austria - it is now important to strengthen our solidarity with the Cuban people. The ever-increasing sanctions are not an isolated problem for Cuba, but an attack on the right to self-determination of all peoples who do not want to submit unconditionally to the US doctrine. Only through international protest and determined resistance against this new escalation can the blatant pressure on the island state be stopped.
The “re-inclusion” of Cuba on the US terror list is a clear provocation and a further step in the imperialist strategy against a socialist state. Hypocrisy, political calculation and an overwhelming economic war are being used in an attempt to destroy the achievements of the Cuban revolution. In this sense, the message is once again: Solidarity with socialist Cuba - put an end to the blockade and extortionist US policy!