Above photo: Activists protest in Washington DC, to urge Biden to take Cuba off State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Craig Birchfield.

The letter states that the designation “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.”

People of conscience across the world continue to put pressure on the government of the United States to remove Cuba from the “State Sponsor of Terrorism” list. This time, a group of nearly 600 parliamentarians from 73 different countries penned a joint letter condemning the continued inclusion of Cuba on the list. The letter was coordinated and published by the Progressive International (PI) on February 20. The lawmakers are calling on their respective governments to “take immediate action to advocate for [the designation’s] removal.”

Cuba was added to the US’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” (SSoT) in 2021 by conservative President Donald Trump, but Biden, Trump’s more liberal successor, has thus far done nothing to remove this designation. The inclusion of Cuba on this list has had enormous consequences for the island nation in terms of its ability to engage in global trade and financial transactions, but has put a huge strain on its economy and severely impacted the living conditions of its people.

The specter of this designation hangs over Cuba, as countries and potential business partners refrain from trading with the country and over comply with sanctions in fear of angering the US or incurring penalties. This fear contributes to the goods shortages that the Cuban people already experience due to the blockade, such as the ongoing fuel deficit.

Not even humanitarian aid is safe, contrary to US claims of humanitarian supplies being exempt from sanctions. According to the advocacy organization the Washington Office for Latin America, “Fearful of being accused of abetting terror and the mammoth fines that an infraction entails, most banks refuse to process Cuban payments and have frozen funds for permitted religious and humanitarian activities, requiring additional licensing.”

Signatories to the letter include but are not limited to, former president of the Belgian Workers Party Peter Mertens, Brazilian Deputy Célia Xakriabá, Canadian MP and PI Council Member Niki Ashton, Colombian Senator and PI Council Member Clara López Obregón, former general secretary of Cyprus’ Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) Andros Kyprianou, Ecuadorian Deputy Jahiren Noriega, French Deputy Arnaud Le Gall, leader of German party Die Linke Martin Schirdewan, Ghanaian MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, general secretary of the Community Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumpas, former president of Guyana Donald Ramotar, First Vice President of the National Congress of Honduras Hugo Noé Pino, Indian MP John Brittas, leader of Jamaica’s People’s National Party Mark Golding, Malaysian MP Wong Chen, general secretary of Mexican party Morena Citlalli Hernández, Senegalese Deputy Guy Marius Sagna, leader of Serbia’s Movement of Socialists Bojan Torbica, leader of the Seychelles opposition Sebastian Pillay, Spanish Deputy and PI Council Member Gerardo Pisarello, leader of Spanish party Podemos Ione Belarra, leader of Sri Lanka’s National Freedom Front Wimal Weerawansa, President of Turkey’s Peoples’ Democratic Party and PI Council Member Ertuğrul Kürkcü, former leader of the UK Labour Party and PI Council Member Jeremy Corbyn.

As the letter states, “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.”

“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.”

Read the full text of the letter below:

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.

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