- It is signed by former presidents such as Dilma Rousseff, Evo Morales, Pepe Mujica, and Rafael Correa, among others.
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| US President Joe Biden. |
Twenty former Latin American leaders ask Biden to remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism
A score of former presidents and former prime ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean have requested this Thursday that the leader of the United States Executive, Joe Biden, remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and "return to the development of the normalization plan agreed by the Government of Barack Obama in 2014".
Along these lines, they point out that Cuba was included on the list for "supporting the peace process of the State of Colombia with the National Liberation Army (ELN)" and complying with the signed protocols "in its capacity as international guarantor of the same."
The letter is signed by former presidents such as the Brazilian Dilma Rousseff, the Uruguayan Pepe Mujica, the Colombian Juan Manuel Santos, the Ecuadorian Rafael Correa, the Bolivian Evo Morales, and the Panamanian Martín Torrijos, among others.
Also, in the letter, they convey to Biden their "deep concern about the delicate situation that the Cuban people are going through." "It is suffering from the enormous difficulties in supplying medicines, the arrival of humanitarian aid, the restrictions imposed on financial services, the arrival of tourists and third-party investments," they write, stressing that this situation has been aggravated by the passage of Hurricane Ian and its "devastating effect" on the island.
For all these reasons, these former leaders ask the US president to arrange "whatever is necessary to lift these restrictions that hit the most vulnerable." In this sense, they argue that the limitations also affect the Cuban-American people, since "they are denied the right to visit their relatives," and "they limit the possibilities of economic recovery."
"Not long ago, Barack Obama questioned the anachronism of the sanctions against Cuba. Nothing prevents a return to 'unfreezing' them and the full reestablishment of diplomatic relations that led to a new rapprochement between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean, which we celebrate in our countries. You, Mr. President, were part of that dialogue that opened a virtuous chapter in relations," they recall Biden, who was then vice president.
Based on these reasons, these former leaders ask the president of the United States to take into account the message "that emerged in various sectors of civil society in the region so as not to return to the pre-pandemic world", as well as to overcome "the current difficult situation that threatens peace in the world" and ratify the condition of Latin America and the Caribbean as "an area of peace on the planet".
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