Poblete said GLA has specifically worked with the Catholic Church in Cuba on human rights and religious freedom issues. The U.S. bishops, Poblete argued, “should respectfully stick with matters of faith and not issues related to national security.”
Poblete noted the reasons for classifying a country as a state sponsor of terrorism are largely classified by the State Department.
“Most Cuban priests I deal with are supportive of the designation,” he said, even though they do not know the specific reasons for it.
Poblete dismissed the notion that the U.S. embargo of the island is contributing to its ongoing crises. The embargo allows for vital products such as food and medicine, he said.
“The problems in Cuba are nothing to do with the embargo,” he said. “It’s a totalitarian police state. I wish the bishops would take that into account before they write things like this.”
Along with allegations of terrorism support, Cuba’s communist government has long been criticized for its chronic human rights violations. The group Human Rights Watch, for example, says the Cuban government “continues to repress and punish virtually all forms of dissent and public criticism” and employs “arbitrary detention to harass and intimidate critics.”
Pérez, meanwhile, said lobbying efforts to remove Cuba from the list are likely to intensify in the coming months, especially if President Joe Biden loses the presidency. Advocates, he argued, would work to push the Biden administration to strike Cuba from the list before the Democrat leaves the White House.
“Expect a flurry of activity if Biden loses before he transitions,” he said.
The USCCB did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.
Ken Oliver-Méndez is editor-in-chief of the Catholic News Agency, which provides news of general interest to Catholics worldwide through its network of regional correspondents, bureaus, and sister services, including ACI Prensa, ACI Stampa, CNA Deutsch, ACI Africa, ACI Afrique, ACI Mena, and ACI Digital. A native Washingtonian and journalist by profession, Ken is a former White House director of specialty media, news editor at NBC Radio, and evening news producer at Radio Martí, among other positions in journalism and public policy.