US: Cuba Still a 'Sponsor of Terrorism'

Cuba angrily 'demands that the government of the United States stop lying'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 1, 2012 10:35 AM CDT
US: Cuba Still a 'Sponsor of Terrorism'
A man peers through a gate where a Cuban flag hangs in a food market in Havana, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

How's this for an anniversary: The US has renewed Cuba's spot on its "state sponsors of terrorism" blacklist for the 30th year in a row, the State Department has announced. The move infuriated Cuba, which released a statement saying it "energetically rejects such a sensitive issue as terrorism be used for petty political purposes, and demands that the government of the United States stop lying."

The US justified its decision by saying that Cuba harbors members of the Basque Separatist group ETA and the Colombian FARC guerilla movement, along with fugitives fleeing US courts. But there's no evidence Cuba provides weapons or training to either group, and it has reportedly distanced itself from the Basque movement, according to the AFP. Cuba's place on the list comes with stiff sanctions and a ban on US aid. (More Cuba stories.)

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