President Barack Obama's decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism removes a major stumbling block for advancing bilateral relations between the two nations and will also enable Cuba to access important financial resources. While a number of world leaders have expressed support for the measure, rightwing congressmen in the United States oppose Obama's decision. Presidential candidate Marco Rubio tried to use the presence in Cuba of former Black Panther Assata Shakur as a justification for keeping Cuba on the terror list. Cuban President Raul Castro, however, hailed Obama's just decision to remove Cuba from a list it never should have been on. Castro noted that on the other hand, hundreds of acts of terrorism have been committed against Cuba, while a true terrorist, Luis Posada Carriles, lives free in the United States. teleSUR
