What happens next with Cuba and the terror list

ByPAMELA FALKCBS NEWS April 14, 2015, 5:20 PM

What happens next with Cuba and the terror list

NEW YORK -- President Obama's announcement that he plans to remove Cuba
from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, and his
submission of his certification to Congress is intended to pave the way
for the opening of embassies in Washington, D.C. and Havana.

President Obama's short certification stated:

I hereby certify, with respect to the rescission of the determination of
March 1, 1982, regarding Cuba that:

(i) the Government of Cuba has not provided any support for
international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and

(ii) the Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not
support acts of international terrorism in the future.

Mr. Obama won't be able to make the anticipated move official before
Congress gets 45 days to review the determination that Cuba is no longer
deemed a sponsor of global terrorism. That determination is made by the
State Department and handled as a recommendation for the president to
act on.

Although the process gives Congress a role to play and divides the
foreign policy powers between the Executive and Legislative branches of
government, Congress does not have the power to block the president's
decision.

What Cuba would gain by dropping off U.S. terror list
The designation of a State Sponsor of Terrorism is based on three laws:
Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, Section 40 of the Arms
Export Control Act, and Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act,
which together impose sanctions including restrictions on U.S. foreign
assistance, and some trade.

There will, doubtless, be more heated criticism of Cuba's removal from
the list in Congress. The U.S. laws that authorize the terror listing do
give Congress the option of passing a Joint Resolution, or a bill to
block a nation's removal, but the president has the power to override
such a move.

Opposition to the removal is based in two groups; the first being
critics -- politicians and private citizens alike -- who believe Cuba is
still supporting terrorism and who make the point that the country
harbors some fugitives from U.S. justice.

How Obama would remove Cuba from terror list
The second group includes American claimants who have a judgment from a
U.S. court against the communist nation. The Foreign Sovereign
Immunities Act allows Americans to seek damages from Cuba's frozen
assets in the U.S.

Relatives of four Cuban-American activists whose planes were shot down
by the Cuban military as they flew over Cuban territory to drop leaflets
in 1996 are among such claimants. The "Brothers to the Rescue" pilots'
families have sought to claim damages under the act.

Removing the designation would leave any Americans with a claim against
Cuba to seek damages directly from the Cuban government.

President Obama said that the statutory standard and the facts, "have
led the President to declare his intention to rescind Cuba's State
Sponsor of Terrorism designation. More broadly, the United States will
continue to support our interests and values through engagement with the
Cuban government and people."

Source: What happens next with Cuba and the terror list - CBS News -
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