Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently condemned Cuba for harboring terrorists and criminal fugitives, some of which are wanted by the US.
Secretary Rubio’s condemnation overlapped with Cuban Dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel’s visit to Russia to commemorate the Soviet Union’s military victories over Nazi Germany.
Rubio has consistently criticized the Cuban government for undermining the interests of the US and of the international community.
According to the State Department, Cuba continues harboring international terrorists wanted by the US.
“The Cuban regime continues to provide safe haven for terrorists and criminals, including fugitives from the United States,” said Rubio. “We owe the victims and the American people our unwavering commitment to holding the Cuban regime accountable.”
Among the terrorists and criminals hosted by the Cuban government is Ishmail Muslim Ali, who murdered eight persons in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1972 and hijacked a plane to flee to Cuba in 1984.
Another fugitive protected by the Cuban government is Joanne Chesimard, a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List who fled to Cuba after being convicted of executing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster.
The Cuban government’s relationship with international terrorists recently reached the fore of US politics as former President Joe Biden derogated Cuba’s ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ designation.
President Biden’s decision sparked Congressional outrage and was rescinded by President Donald Trump, who re-designated Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism.
Cuba was first placed on the state sponsor of terrorism list by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, subsequently removed by President Barack Obama in 2015, and once again added to the list by President Donald Trump.
Before being confirmed as Secretary of State, Rubio chastised the Biden administration’s decision to remove Cuba’s designation.
Rubio qualified Biden’s Cuba conciliatory moves as “absurd” and further added Cuba “supports foreign terrorist organizations in Colombia, and Harbors ETA terrorists as well as fugitives wanted by American courts.”
