The United States has removed Cuba from its shortlist of countries that are « not fully cooperating » in the fight against terrorism, a State Department official announced on Wednesday.

The official cited the resumption of police cooperation between Cuba and the United States as one of the reasons the previous classification was deemed « no longer appropriate. »

« The Department noted that the circumstances under which Cuba was designated a ‘country that is not fully cooperating’ changed between 2022 and 2023, » the official said.

Several factors contributed to Cuba’s change in status. According to the official, the United States and Cuba resumed police cooperation, including counterterrorism, in 2023. Cuba also stopped refusing to cooperate with Colombia regarding extradition requests for National Liberation Army (ELN) members, following the Colombian attorney general’s announcement that arrest warrants were suspended.

As a result of these changes, « the Department has concluded that it is no longer appropriate to continue to classify Cuba as a ‘country that is not fully cooperating,' » the official said.

The State Department continues to list North Korea, Iran, Syria and Venezuela on its list of countries that do not cooperate in the fight against terrorism.
The Cuban government celebrated the State Department’s decision, but at the same time called on the United States to remove the country from a separate list that lists it as a state sponsor of terrorism.

« The United States has just acknowledged that everyone knows that Cuba is fully cooperating in the fight against terrorism, » Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said, adding that state sponsors of terrorism must stop. The important thing is that the Biden administration takes a step forward, which has so far largely maintained Trump-era restrictions on the communist-ruled island.

The list of countries cooperating in the fight against terrorism, which the State Department is required by law to submit to the U.S. Congress, is not the same as the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, a department official said.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump separately classified Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism shortly before leaving office. Cuba claims the move led to a severe economic crisis on the island and shortages of food, fuel and medicine.