Cuba protests inclusion in US terror list

Washington, Jan 6 (IANS/EFE) Affirming that it was part of the international war against terrorism, Cuba has rejected its inclusion in the list of terrorism-sponsoring nations by the US.

Cuba “has complied, is complying and will comply with the internationally recognised security measures”, Alberto Gonzalez, spokesman of the the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, told EFE Tuesday.

Rejecting the US having included communist-ruled Cuba on its list of states that sponsor terrorism, Gonzalez insisted that his country “does not recognise any moral authority of the US government to certify its inclusion and that of the Cubans on this type of list”.

After the failed Christmas Day attack on a flight over Detroit, the US increased security checks on international passengers, in particular those arriving from Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, whose governments Washington accuses of sponsoring terrorism.

It is also subjecting to enhanced screening travellers from “countries of interest”, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

Gonzalez said Cuba “has a perfectly clean service record in this area. Cuban territory has never been used to organise, finance or execute terrorist acts against the USA or any other state”.

He said the inclusion of Cuba on the black list has a political character because the government in Washington “cannot cite a single terrorist act or intention that has come from Cuban territory”.

In its recent report on international terrorism, the US State Department said Havana remained on the black list because “the Cuban government continued to provide safe haven to several terrorists”.

–IANS/EFE