BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC—Within a week, Belize has become the second Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to call on the United States to provide evidence for categorizing Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT).
Belize has joined Dominica, which had earlier called on Washington to reverse “this unmerited and unjust listing of Cuba as a state which sponsors terrorism,” with Roseau saying it holds firmly that there is no evidence of state-sponsored terrorism acts being supported by Havana.
In its statement, Belmopan said it is “deeply concerned with the arbitrary decision” of the United States to continue listing Cuba on the U.S. State Department’s website as SSOT.
“The government of Belize denounces these baseless accusations as there is no evidence that the government of the Republic of Cuba is involved in any such activities,” it said, calling on Washington “to immediately remove Cuba from that list, which has caused and continues to cause much suffering to the Cuban people.
“The Government of Belize encourages the United States to continue the process of normalizing their bilateral relations with Cuba. The Government and people of Belize stand in solidarity with the Government and people of the Republic of Cuba.
“Belize will continue, along with the member states of the Caribbean Community, to call for lifting the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government on Cuba and for the removal of Cuba from the SSOT list,” it added.
Last week, Washington said it had removed Cuba from a short list of countries it alleges are “not cooperating fully” in its fight against terrorism.
A State Department cited the resumption of law enforcement cooperation between Cuba and the U.S. as one of the reasons why the previous designation was deemed “no longer appropriate.
“The department determined that the circumstances for Cuba’s certification as a ‘not fully cooperating country’ have changed from 2022 to 2023,” the official said.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump separately designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism just before leaving office, a jab that Cuba maintains has contributed to a severe economic crisis on the island and to shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
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