Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1998  

Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism

[published April 1999]

[excerpts]

Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria are the seven governments that the US Secretary of State has designated as state sponsors of international terrorism. US policy is to pressure these states to cease their support by applying a broad range of sanctions, both unilateral and multilateral. International cooperation is essential in making these sanctions work, and more needs to be done in this area.

Cuba has reduced significantly its support to leftist revolutionaries in Latin America and elsewhere, but it maintains close ties to other state sponsors of terrorism and leftist insurgent groups and continues to provide safehaven to a number of international terrorists.

Cuba
Cuba no longer actively supports armed struggle in Latin America or elsewhere. Previously, the Castro regime provided significant levels of funding, military training, arms, and guidance to various revolutionary groups across the globe. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Havana has been forced to reduce dramatically its support to leftist revolutionaries.

Cuba, nonetheless, continues to maintain close ties to other state sponsors of terrorism and leftist insurgent groups in Latin America. For instance, Colombia's two main terrorist groups, the FARC and the ELN, maintain representatives in Cuba. Moreover, Havana continues to provide safehaven to a number of international terrorists and US terrorist fugitives.