Cubans hail removal from U.S. list of state terrorism sponsors

Cuban officials and ordinary citizens alike have hailed the island’s removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying the move by President Barack Obama heals a decades-old insult to national pride and clears the way to swiftly restore diplomatic relations. Cuban and U.S. foreign-policy experts said the two governments appeared to have taken a major leap toward the reopening of embassies in Havana and Washington after four months of complex and occasionally frustrating negotiations.

It’s really good that they finally took us off the list even though the reality is that we never should have been there.

Rigoberto Morejon, a member of the Cuban national fencing team who lost three training partners in a 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger flight

In a message to Congress, Obama said Tuesday Cuba’s government hadn’t provided support for international terrorism in the past six months and had given assurances “it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.” Lawmakers may vote to block the move, though Obama would be all but certain to veto such a measure. What remains to be seen in coming weeks is whether Cuba will allow U.S. diplomats to move around Cuba and maintain contacts with citizens including dissidents, the second point of contention in negotiations on restoring full diplomatic relations.

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