Pompeo designates Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism eight days before Trump leaves office

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on January 12, 2021, eight days before President Trump left office, returning Cuba to a list from which President Obama had removed it in May 2015. Pompeo cited Cuba's harboring of US fugitives including bomb maker William Morales and Assata Shakur, its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and alleged ties to FARC guerrillas in Colombia. The designation imposed automatic sanctions including restrictions on US foreign assistance, a ban on arms exports, and financial restrictions on the Cuban government. Biden administration officials later found no intelligence supporting the designation but kept Cuba on the list until January 14, 2025.