Cuba says it is surprised, irritated by new US charge

After the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken charged Cuba that it is not fully cooperating with United States antiterrorism efforts, the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted "The slander is surprising and irritating as is the application of Trump's policy and his 243 sanctions."

Those who supported detente on and off the Caribbean island had high hopes US President Joe Biden would quickly reverse Trump's policy, but his administration has said that a shift in policy toward Cuba is not among its top foreign priorities.

"Biden has been largely inactive and silent on Cuba policy, indicating a lack of shift away from Trump's posture," said Andrew Zimbalist, a Cuba expert at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, according to Reuters.

KI/PR