Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday urged Secretary of State John Kerry to keep Cuba on a state sponsor of terror list, saying the country continues to violate international laws and harbor terrorists.
Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of State for western hemisphere affairs, told reporters last week that the department is “working very quickly and very assiduously” to review Cuba’s placement on the list.
{mosads}Cuba, Syria, Iran and Sudan are the only four countries currently designated by the State Department as state sponsors of terror, meaning they face additional restrictions on trade and getting U.S. aid.
Rubio, a Cuban-American and potential 2016 candidate, said he is “greatly disturbed” by the reports that Kerry is considering recommending that Cuba be taken off the list.
“The United States cannot in good faith remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List while the Castro regime harbors terrorists who have killed Americans, actively supports designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by harboring their members and continues to flout international law,” Rubio said in a letter to Kerry.
Rubio has been a vocal critic of President Obama’s decision to take steps to normalize relations with Cuba. His letter on Thursday comes after he criticized the administration on human rights ahead of a second round of talks between U.S. and Cuban officials late last month.
“U.S. officials are so desperate to open a U.S. embassy in Havana, that they’re forging ahead despite a new wave of repression that has jailed over 200 Cuban democracy activists in the past two weeks,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s letter is his latest criticism of Obama’s foreign policy. The Florida Republican has used his opposition to the president’s handling of Ukraine, as well as the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), to help stake out his positions on foreign policy ahead of a possible presidential bid.