Marco Rubio Urges John Kerry to Keep Cuba Listed as State Sponsor of Terror

From his perch as chairman of the U.S. Senate Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to keep Cuba listed as a state sponsor of terror even as the Obama administration tries to normalize relations with that nation.

Rubio wrote Kerry on Thursday and made his case.

I am greatly disturbed by recent media reports that you are considering recommending to the President that he de-list Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List (SSTL), Rubio wrote. I believe that there should be no consideration of such a step while Cuba still harbors fugitives labeled terrorists by the FBI, provides support and safe harbor to members of terrorist groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and continues to flout international norms with respect to weapons smuggling and an ongoing relationship with North Korea.

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 through clandestine weapon transfers with a rogue regime like North Korea, Rubio noted.