Thirty-five Former Presidents Ask Joe Biden to Remove Cuba from US Blacklist

Havana, Sept 17 (ACN) Thirty-five ex-presidents of the world sent US President Joe Biden a letter asking him to remove Cuba from the US list of states sponsors of terrorism.

Colombia’s former president Ernesto Samper published the letter signed by former heads of state from Latin American, Caribbean, European, African and Asian countries.

In their letter, the former presidents ask Joe Biden to withdraw Cuba from the US blacklist before he concludes his term of office to relieve the current situation of millions of innocent people.

Below is the full text of the letter, and the names of the thirty-five former presidents, as published on the website of the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

https://cubaminrex.cu/sites/default/files/2024-09/Cuba%20JB_ENG_0.pdf

September 11th, 2024

Mr.

JOSEPH BIDEN

President of the United States of America

Mr. President,

As you are aware, for decades of unilateral sanctions and coercive measures, the Cuban economy has
been one of the most heavily impacted in the world and is currently, socially, at a point of no return.

During the Barack Obama administration -of which you were a part- progress was made in a historic
step towards the easing of those sanctions and the normalization of diplomatic relations between two
neighbors who should not deprive each other of their mutual cooperation simply because they have
political systems with different ideological inspiration.

There is no record in our post-war history, since the founding of the United Nations System, of any
international normativity that stipulates that relations between States must be governed or conditioned
according to their level of ideological alignment, which would imply the end of sovereignty and
self-determination as fundamental pillars upon which the world governance system has been
established in peace since the end of World War II. Precisely based on this reasoning, Obama himself
recognized the anachronism of some unilateral measures against states like Cuba.

In May of this year, the State Department decided to remove Cuba from the list of countries not
cooperating fully against terrorism, a fair and correct decision that we applauded at the time. Despite
this, in a contradictory manner, your country's authorities insist on keeping Cuba included on another
list -the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism-. How can it be asserted, at the same time, that a country
cooperates in the global fight against terrorism while simultaneously accusing it of openly
supporting it?

Without any evidence, Cuba is accused of having links to terrorist activities of which it has also been
a victim and harsh sanctions are imposed based on this presumption, directly impacting its population
and permanently destabilizing its economy.

Furthermore, maintaining Cuba's inclusion on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism constitutes a
coercive measure that is difficult to justify in the 21st century when equality among states must be a
reality. This unjust decision also affects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - the ethical pillar
of contemporary international relations-, by impacting the most vulnerable sectors of the Cuban
population, who have been severely affected recently by the devastating effects of the pandemic,
exacerbated by the lack of medicines and equipment to address the emergency.

The difficult situation that the Cuban economy is going through can be explained - among other
factors - by the unilateral sanctions applied by the United States, which have been condemned for
their unilateralism by the United Nations system and by many people and institutions on various
occasions and opportunities. In the United Nations General Assembly, the blockade against Cuba has
been condemned in more than thirty resolutions by an absolute majority.

In Cuba, Mr. President, the situation is beginning to be dramatic. This reflects a critical juncture that
can and should be corrected if justice is done with Cuba's demonstrated efforts to fight against, and
not with, terrorism.

The unprecedented wave of Cuban migrants to the United States is perhaps the most illustrative
example of the devastating impact and suffering caused by extreme measures against the Cuban
economy, resulting from its inclusion in the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The extraterritorial
effect of financial blockade measures against Cuba also affects the interests of our countries, including
the banking and business sectors.

The active participation of the Cuban government in the construction of the Peace Accord signed in
Havana in 2016 between the State of Colombia and “Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia”
(FARC), coupled with its recent role as a guarantor country in the dialogue seeking peace between the
Colombian State and the “Ejército de Liberación Nacional” (ELN), Cuba demonstrates the
humanitarian will for peace and not for war that animates Cuba and its government.

In summary, Mr. President, the reasons we present for requesting that Cuba be removed from the list
of State Sponsors of Terrorism are grounded in a compelling humanitarian appeal aimed at
alleviating the situation of millions of innocent people and our profound conviction that the Cuban
government is seriously committed against terrorism and promoting peace in the region and the world.

No country should compromise, with political purposes, the seriousness of the fight against the
scourge of terrorism.

Therefore, we ask you to consider sending this clear message of humanism and understanding beyond
the legitimate ideological differences that cannot and should not justify acting otherwise. The people
of Cuba and the countries we represent will recognize your historic gesture, Mr. President.
Respectfully,

Latin America and the Caribbean

1. Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil.
2. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, former president of Argentina.
3. Ernesto Samper Pizano, former president of Colombia.
4. Evo Morales, former president of Bolivia.
5. Rafael Correa, former president of Ecuador.
6. Donald Ramotar, former president of Guyana.
7. David Arthur Granger, former president of Guayana.
8. Moses Nagamootoo, ex primer ministro de Guyana.
9. Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso, former president of Peru.
10. Mirtha Esther Vásquez Chuquilín, former prime minister of Peru.
11. Aníbal Torres Vásquez, former prime minister of Peru.
12. Salomón Lerner Ghitis, former prime minister of Peru.
13. Said Musa, former prime minister of Belize.
14. Dean Barrow, former prime minister of Belize.
15. Salvador Sánchez Cerén, former president of El Salvador.
16. Vinicio Cerezo, former president of Guatemala.
17. Manuel Zelaya, former president of Honduras.
18. Martin Torrijos, former president of Panama.
19. Ernesto Pérez Balladares, former president of Panama.
20. Baldwin Spencer, former prime minister of Antigua y Barbuda.
21. Leonel Fernández, former president of the Dominican Republic.
22. Hipolito Mejía, former president of the Dominican Republic.
23. Charles Angelo Savarin, former president of the Commonwealth of Dominica.
24. Keith Mitchell, former prime minister of Grenada.
25. Percival James Patterson, former prime minister of Jamaica.
26. Kenny Anthony, former prime minister of Saint Lucia.
Europe
27. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former president of the Spanish Government.
28. Tomislav Nikolić, former president of Serbia.
Africa
29. John Dramani Mahamat, former president of Ghana.
30. Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former president of Mozambique.
31. Hifikepunye Pohamba, former president of Namibia.
32. Sam Nujoma, former president of Namibia.
33. Danny Faure, former president of Seychelles.
Asia
34. Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri, former prime minister of East Timor.
35. Mahatir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia.