MIAMI, Florida — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is criticizing President Barack Obama over news that the president is moving forward with removing Cuba from the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
As Breitbart News’ Frances Martel reported, Obama made this decision despite the Castro regime’s support for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist terrorist group, and the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah. Cuba has also shielded from extradition Assata Shakur, who the FBI put on the Top Ten Most Wanted Terrorists List for her role in the killing of a New Jersey State Trooper, as Breitbart Texas reported.
In a statement provided to Breitbart News, Cruz said that Cuba needed to “prove” that it is no longer supporting terrorism and groups hostile to the United States:
When it comes to making any deals with world dictators, the President of the United States should use two words: Prove it. Cuba must prove it is willing to change its behavior before the United States takes a single action to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terror.
Fidel and Raul Castro have a decades-long track record of violent hostility towards our nation. It is dangerous and reckless to use a terrorist designation as a negotiating tool, as their regime continues to support and harbor terrorists who have murdered Americans.
We need better than a promise of future change; Cuba needs to prove it. And, until Cuba does, any discussion about changing its terrorist designation should be off the table.
Cruz, whose father Rafael Cruz was born in Cuba, announced he was running for President last month. He was joined in the race by another Senator of Cuban descent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Monday. In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News before he announced he was running, Rubio called it “ridiculous” that Obama was considering taking Cuba of the Sponsors of Terrorism list.
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter @rumpfshaker.
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