Cuban residents in Panama call on US to remove Cuba from SSOT list

The Marti Association of Cuban Residents in Panama (AMCRP) on Monday asked the national Government to call on the United States to remove Cuba from the unilateral State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list.

In a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney, the AMCRP respectfully asked the Executive to urge the White House not to stop this process.

They also requested in the document delivered to head of Panamanian diplomacy that the economic, commercial and financial blockade that Washington has imposed on Cuba for more than 60 years be lifted, as has been requested repeatedly by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

In the letter, the group also supported the statement issued by the Cuban Foreign Ministry on May 15, while taking note of the report sent by the Secretary of State to Congress “in which Cuba was excluded from the list of countries not fully cooperating with US counterterrorism efforts in 2023.”

In that text, Cuban diplomacy described Anthony Blinken’s report as arbitrary, because they usually qualify countries, without any international mandate or recognition.

However, the State Department itself maintains Cuba on the SSOT list, the statement added.

This is an absolutely unilateral and unfounded list, whose sole purpose is to slander and serve as a pretext for the adoption of coercive economic measures against sovereign States, such as those ruthlessly applied against Cuba, the official press release indicated.

The clear and absolute truth is that Cuba does not sponsor terrorism, but rather has been a victim of it, including State terrorism, the message highlighted.

The Association pointed out in its letter that as Cubans living in Panama, their second homeland, it fills them with satisfaction to be able to count on the Government. In this way, they conveyed their gratitude in the assurance that this will contribute to strengthening the ties of brotherhood between both nations.