US says Cuba ‘not fully cooperating’ with counter-terrorism efforts

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By Brendan O’Brien and Dave Sherwood

(Reuters) -The U.S. State Department on Tuesday placed Cuba on a short list of countries it says did not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts in 2024, reversing a decision by the Biden administration the previous year.

The State Department said in statement that there are at least 11 U.S. fugitives in Cuba, including several facing terrorism-related charges and that Cuba’s government had “made clear it was not willing to discuss their return” to face justice in the United States.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez lashed out at the decision by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, saying it was based on lies.

“It’s worth reminding him that agencies of his own country in 2024 presented evidence to the contrary,” Rodriguez said on X late on Tuesday.

Biden administration officials the previous year took Cuba off the list, citing the resumption of law enforcement cooperation between Cuba and the U.S. as one the reasons why the previous designation was deemed “no longer appropriate.”

The cooperation against terrorism list, which the State Department is required by law to provide the U.S. Congress, is not the same as the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Biden had also removed Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, but Trump promptly reversed the decision upon taking office, imposing harsh new sanctions on the Caribbean island nation.

The State Department on Tuesday also re-certified North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela as countries that failed to cooperate with the U.S in counter-terrorism efforts.

The non-cooperation certification results in a prohibition on the sale or license for export of defense articles and services to these countries.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Dave Sherwood in Havana; Editing by Michael Perry)