Cuba, Spain in talks over ETA fugitives - US

Cuba, Spain in talks over ETA fugitives: US

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The move was among assurances given to Washington by Havana as the Obama
administration seeks to strike Cuba from its list of state sponsors of
terrorism.

The White House announced Tuesday that following a lengthy review by the
State Department, President Barack Obama is planning to remove Cuba from
the blacklist which has hampered its access to the US and global banking
system and stymied arms exports and sales.

The step could pave the way to restoring US-Cuban diplomatic ties frozen
for half a century.

"The Cuban government provided the United States in writing official
assurances... that it will not support acts of international terrorism,"
acting deputy State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said.

Cuba was placed on the terror blacklist in 1982 amid concerns it was
seeking to foment revolution in Latin America, notably through
supporting the left-wing FARC guerrillas in Colombia, and also because
of suspected ties to ETA.

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President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Cuba's President Raul
Castro during their meeting o …
"There are some ETA members who have been in Cuba," Rathke said.

"The Cuban government has provided assurances that it would never permit
the ETA members living in Cuba to use Cuban territory for activities
against Spain or any other country."

And he revealed that "Cuba and Spain have agreed to a bilateral process
to resolve" a dispute over Madrid's demand for the extradition of two
alleged ETA members.

"That's now under way. The government of Spain has assured the
government of the United States that it is satisfied with this process."

The State Department review had also concluded that "there is no
credible evidence that the government of Cuba has, in the last six
months, provided material support... to members of the FARC."

Indeed, Havana has been hosting peace talks between Bogota and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in a bid to resolve one of
the world's longest running insurgencies.

"The government of Colombia believes that the government of Cuba has
played a constructive role in the peace negotiations," Rathke added.

Havana has also promised to launch negotiations, once diplomatic ties
are established, on the fate of several American fugitives living in Cuba.

"The return from Cuba of fugitives from US justice is an issue of
longstanding concern to the United States," Rathke said.

"We see the reestablishment of diplomatic relations and the reopening of
an embassy in Havana as the means by which we'll be able, more
effectively, to press the Cuban government on law enforcement issues
such as fugitives."

The US has in particular been seeking the return of JoAnne Chesimard, a
former member of the Black Panthers accused of killing a New Jersey
policeman in 1973, and William Guillermo Morales, convicted in 1979 of
making bombs for an extremist Puerto Rican independence group.

Source: Cuba, Spain in talks over ETA fugitives: US - Yahoo News -
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