We condemn the cynical decision by the outgoing United States administration to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

         By any rational metric, given the definition of terrorism as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims”, there is absolutely no way that Cuba belongs on the U.S. list of Official State Sponsors of Terrorism. 

It is important to underline the consistency of violence at work here.  The targeting of Cuba is a natural and logical extension of the domestic policy of the Trump administration, which has disproportionately targeted Black/Indigenous/Latinx communities and anti-fascist activists for daring to address long standing systemic injustices. 

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, the United States turned inward and began to unravel, denying healthcare to millions of its own citizens, while blocking shipments of respirators to Barbados, the Bahamas and Cayman Islands, and deporting COVID-19 positive patients back to Haiti and Jamaica. In contrast, Cuba reached out not just to the Caribbean, where they sent over 500 medical professionals to all corners of the region, but also to the world. Leading by example, Cuba demonstrated another way forward, showing that the way to combat COVID-19 was through the extension of compassion, science and solidarity, with great success. 

In fact, it was the response of the United States that was typically befitting of the aforementioned definition of terrorism, with Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz putting forward a bill which would categorize countries that welcomed Cuban health professionals as “facilitators of human trafficking,” and subject to financial and political sanctions. This act targeted the 67 countries and millions of the most vulnerable patients which rely on Cuba’s 37,000 medical workers, robbing them of live-saving treatment. 

With US President Donald Trump on the way out, the reality is that while the Biden administration may tinker with some of the restrictions that are the consequence of naming Cuba as an Official State Sponsor of Terrorism, we must not be complacent. The historical record of the Democratic Party clearly shows that it is unlikely to remove the central policies underpinning the current embargo against Cuba, which constitute a crime against humanity, causing needless suffering. The only sensible policy towards Cuba is one which normalizes relations and respects the sovereignty and self-determination of the Cuban people. 

The Caribbean Solidarity Network calls for an immediate reversal of this inhumane and longstanding position towards the Cuban people, who have done more for humanity during times of crisis than nearly any other nation.