WASHINGTON — The United States has taken Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a step that authorities in Havana had insisted upon in advance of the reopening of embassies.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signed the order Friday, 45 days after the Obama administration informed Congress that it would remove Cuba from the list.
The State Department determined that Cuba had not supported international terrorism in the previous six months, a requirement for getting off the list that now has only three countries — Iran, Syria and Sudan. Cuba had been on it since 1982.
Jeff Rathke, a spokesman for the State Department, said the decision to drop Cuba from the list “reflects our assessment that Cuba meets the statutory criteria.”
Removing the terror designation lifts only some U.S. trade barriers against Cuba. An economic embargo remains in effect, and reversing it requires a congressional vote. President Barack Obama has said he hopes to work with Congress to get it lifted.
Until then, the action taken Friday will not provide a huge economic boost. It could, however, encourage some international companies and banks to do business in Cuba.
Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro in December announced a historic decision to renew relations, and representatives of the two countries have met four times since then to iron out issues that would allow the opening of full-fledged embassies and an exchange of ambassadors.
Both countries closed their embassies in 1961, but each has maintained a pared-down interests section in the other’s capital.
The removal of Cuba from the terrorism list addresses one of Cuba’s key demands. Although it used to support left-wing insurgencies in other countries, Cuba viewed the designation as an affront.
Reaction in the United States, on the campaign trail and in Congress, was mixed.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, presumed to be running for the Republican nomination for president next year, said lifting the designation is “a mistake.”
“I call on Congress to keep pressure on Cuba and hold the administration accountable,” he said.
But Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that “a more hopeful future is possible” with Cuba off the list.
