--- title: Barack Obama Poised to Remove Cuba From Terrorism List description: President Obama said he would move quickly on a decision to remove Cuba from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism canonical: https://time.com/3774217/cuba-obama-terrorism-list/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-07T17:47:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:42.973Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Poised to Remove Cuba From Terrorism List og:description: "I think there's a real opportunity here," Obama said of normalizing relations with the island nation og:url: https://time.com/3774217/cuba-obama-terrorism-list/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Poised to Remove Cuba From Terrorism List twitter:description: "I think there's a real opportunity here," Obama said of normalizing relations with the island nation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Obama Poised to Remove Cuba From Terrorism List > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=12541bd4-8f2f-4fee-add3-276dc3b11ec6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Five Things You Should Know Before Traveling To Cuba [Watch (HLS stream): Five Things You Should Know Before Traveling To Cuba](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/f1ZZxJ3O.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2015-01-16. The U.S. is only allowing travel to Cuba for government-approved reasons. Also, sorry — there’s a limit to how much alcohol and tobacco you can bring back_  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Apr 7, 2015 5:47 PM UTC  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Apr 7, 2015 5:47 PM UTC President Obama said Tuesday that he would move quickly on a decision to remove Cuba from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, pending a recommendation from the agency. “As soon as I get a recommendation, I’ll be in a position to act on it,” the President [said](http://www.npr.org/2015/04/07/397933577/transcript-president-obamas-full-npr-interview-on-iran-nuclear-deal) during an interview with National Public Radio. Cuba was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1982\. The Obama Administration announced the beginning of a historic push to diplomatic relations with Cuba late last year. Obama on Tuesday also reiterated his willingness to reopen an embassy in Cuba and establish “regular contacts” in the country. “I think there’s a real opportunity here, and we are going to continue to… move forward on it,” he said. \[[_NPR_](http://www.npr.org/2015/04/07/397933577/transcript-president-obamas-full-npr-interview-on-iran-nuclear-deal)\] ## Transcript It's now a whole lot easier to travel to Cuba. But, if you're hoping to plan a dream Cuban vacation any time soon, here's a few things that might be helpful to know. First, Cuba isn't actually open for US tourist travel. You can go, you just have to have a non- tourism reason. The US government lists 12 categories for which Americans can get approval to travel to Cuba. These include visiting family or doing government, journalistic, educational, or humanitarian work. Traveling to support the Cuban people is also listed. After speaking with the U. S. treasury official, a writer for Fusion put it this way: that's the government's way of basically telling you, with a wink, that it's fine to travel to Cuba as a tourist. According to the Outlet, spending money at Cuban businesses could be considered supporting the Cuban people. But a Treasury Department press release did warn against being dishonest about what you'll do in the country. If your travels do fit one of those categories, keep in mind no major US air carriers offer direct commercial flights to Cuba for now. You'll have to find a connecting flight in a different country or book a more expensive charter. Once you finally touch down, you'll be allowed to use your U. S. credit and debit cards. And soon you might be able to use your cell phone in Cuba. Most U. S. mobile carriers don't have roaming agreements in Cuba because of the embargo, but that could change with the new policy [ MUSIC ] At the end of your travels your only allowed to bring $ 400 worth of goods back home with you and it can't all be in cigars and rum only $ 100 can be in alcohol and tobacco ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3774217/cuba-obama-terrorism-list/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3774217/cuba-obama-terrorism-list/"},"headline":"Obama Poised to Remove Cuba From Terrorism List","datePublished":"2015-04-07T17:47:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:42.973Z","description":"\"I think there's a real opportunity here,\" Obama said of normalizing relations with the island nation","url":"https://time.com/3774217/cuba-obama-terrorism-list/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Cuba"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3774217/cuba-obama-terrorism-list/","name":"Obama Poised to Remove Cuba From Terrorism List"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Five Things You Should Know Before Traveling To Cuba","description":"The U.S. is only allowing travel to Cuba for government-approved reasons. 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