(16 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 15 January 2025
1. Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez giving statement
2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Bruno Rodríguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“Well, if another president, whether the next one or the one after that, were to come along and include Cuba again on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, one would have to ask what the reasons are. What would U.S. government agencies say? What about law enforcement agencies? Where would the credibility of the U.S. government be? This would look like a complete mess, a real mess.”
3. Rodríguez speaking to the media
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Bruno Rodríguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“The political, ethical, and legal implications of this determination by President Joe Biden will not be undermined by any arbitrary, extreme, dishonest, or fraudulent actions taken by the next U.S government."
5. Rodríguez with the head of the Press Center in an interview with the AP
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Bruno Rodríguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“It has been demonstrated that this list is not a tool, nor an instrument in the fight against terrorism, but a brutal and mere tool of political coercion against sovereign states.”
7. Rodríguez speaking to the media
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Rodríguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“I have been watching the nomination hearings and appointments for positions in the next government of the United States. I have taken a look at them because, honestly, they are quite lengthy; I must admit that they are very interesting, reminiscent of adult films. In Cuba, we refer to this as the Saturday night movie—language for adults, featuring themes of sex, violence, drugs, alcohol, and corruption, all of which are unusually prevalent in these hearings.”
9. Rodríguez speaking to the media
STORYLINE:
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism.
“The political, ethical, and legal implications of this determination by President Joe Biden will not be undermined by any arbitrary, extreme, dishonest, or fraudulent actions taken by the next U.S government,” said Rodriguez
In an interview with the Associated Press following his statement to the media, Rodriguez said if the decision is reversed by the incoming administration of Donald Trump, it will make it clear that “this list is not a tool, nor an instrument in the fight against terrorism, but a brutal and mere tool of political coercion against sovereign states.”
The foreign minister criticized the choices of members of the new American administration and compared the confirmation hearings at the U.S. Senate to an X-rated movie “ full of sex, alcohol, violence and corruption.”
Donald Trump’s designation of Cuba as a state that sponsors terrorism was one of several foreign policy moves he made in the final days of his first term.
About six months later, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on island officials and the national revolutionary police after hundreds of Cubans were arrested during demonstrations in Havana and other cities protesting shortages, power outages, and government policies.
These were the first such protests since the 1990s.
The Biden Administration announced that the decision is part of a deal brokered by the Catholic Church to free more than 500 political prisoners on the island.
The minister did not answer questions or comment on the release of the prisoners.
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