President Obama has recommended that Cuba should be removed from the United States’ government list of state sponsors of terrorism.
This development has been long sought by Cuba and with its approval, embassies will be established both in Havana and Washington D.C.
In explaining why he took such a decision to Congress, President Obama said, “The government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period; and the government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
While this move has drawn criticism from those gearing up for the 2016 U.S presidential race, there are others such as Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican, that are in support as this could improve diplomatic relations with Cuba.
In fact, it was in December 2014 that President Obama had decided to normalize relations with Cuba even if the previous efforts of diplomatic isolation on governments’ run by Fidel and Raul Castro had failed. A new approach to improve diplomatic relations was necessary, according to the President.
And as soon as these discussions opened, Cuba’s officials were unhappy with their nation being on the list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982 and still on the list since circumstances had changed drastically since the Cold War.
However, and apart from this development, the biggest indicator of improved relations between the two countries was when Obama and Raul Castro discussed matters for about an hour at the Summit of the Americas held in Panama. This was the first time that a U.S and Cuban leader sat down for discussions since 1959.