Statement of Senator Peter Welch
on Cuba
Statement as Prepared
January 22, 2025

Mr. President, in his last week in office, President Biden removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, a designation imposed by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the final days of the first Trump Administration.  That designation has caused, directly and indirectly, great hardship for the Cuban people who are currently experiencing the worst poverty in a generation. At the same time the designation, and the other sanctions imposed by the United States, have achieved none of the intended goals.  Cuba remains a one-party state where political dissent is not tolerated.

President Biden rightly determined there is no evidence that Cuba sponsors international terrorism. That has been true for many years, and his decision was long overdue. But the reaction of those who have supported the terrorism designation was predictable. When asked if Cuba is a sponsor of terrorism, now-Secretary of State Rubio answered, “Without question.”

If the facts and the law supported that claim, I would agree. But the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation has become a transparently political determination, not one based on the facts or the law.

Under the law, countries determined by the Secretary of State to have “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism” are designated as state sponsors. There is no ambiguity. The law explicitly refers to “international terrorism.”  But even those who claim Cuba belongs on the list of state sponsors have failed to produce any evidence that it supports acts of international terrorism. Instead, they cite Cuba’s harboring of American fugitives from justice, none of whom were charged or convicted of international terrorism. They cite Cuba’s support for the Maduro government in Venezuela, which has not been designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. And they cite the role that Cuba has played, like Norway, as a facilitator of negotiations between the FARC and more recently the ELN and the Colombian government, which has called for Cuba to be removed from the list.

There is plenty to dislike about the Cuban government. It represses dissidents and mismanages its economy. It consistently blames the U.S. for its own failures. But there is plenty of blame to go around, and our policy of sanctions, isolation, and hostility has unquestionably contributed to the daily hardships suffered by the Cuban people.

It is therefore very disappointing that President Trump, in an Executive Order on his first day in office, redesignated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. He was once again pressured to do so, as he was during his first term, by the same vocal minority who believe that by making the lives of the Cuban people as miserable as possible they will topple the government.

By doing so President Trump has made a mockery of the list of states that do sponsor international terrorism, like Iran and North Korea. It’s not a list of pariah countries. It’s not a list of countries whose governments violate human rights. Under the law, it’s not even a list of countries that support domestic terrorism. Cuba does not belong on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, and by relisting Cuba the President has ignored the law.

Download the statement for the Congressional Record here.

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