The State Department designated Cuba a “not fully cooperating country” over its harboring of 11 fugitives.
In a Tuesday statement, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the designation came over a violation of section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act, committed in 2024. The designation forbids Cuba from receiving defense articles and services.
“In 2024, the Cuban regime did not fully cooperate with the United States on counterterrorism. There were at least 11 U.S. fugitives from justice in Cuba, including several facing terrorism-related charges, and the Cuban regime made clear it was not willing to discuss their return to face justice in our nation,” Bruce said. ”The Cuban regime’s refusal to engage on this important issue, as well as other recent circumstances of non-cooperation on terrorism-related law enforcement matters, made efforts to cooperate on counterterrorism issues futile in 2024.”
“The United States will continue to promote international cooperation on counterterrorism issues. We also continue to promote accountability for countries that do not stand against terrorism,” she added.
North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela have also been hit with an NFCC designation.
In the case of Cuba, one of the suspects is Joanne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur, who was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. The other 10 are suspects wanted in Colombia for the 2019 Bogota car bombing, when a National Liberation Army, or ELN, militant drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a police academy, killing himself and 21 others while injuring dozens more.
CUBA SAYS MASS PRISONER RELEASE NOT RELATED TO TERROR DESIGNATION REVERSAL
At the time of the bombing, 10 ELN leaders were in Havana for peace talks. The Cuban government’s sheltering of the group’s leaders, which modeled the left-wing militant group after the Cuban Revolution, has become a major point of contention between Colombia and Cuba.
U.S. relations with Cuba have become a seesaw over the previous three administrations. After a warming of relations during the Obama administration, President Donald Trump redesignated Havana a state sponsor of terrorism in the final days of his first term. The Biden administration reversed the decision in its final days, leading to the current NFCC designation.