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In scandalous last minute decision Trump designates Cuba as state sponsor of ter

Marxist Theory · 2021-01-12

Core Argument

The article argues that Trump's last-minute designation of Cuba as a "state sponsor of terrorism" is a politically motivated act of imperialist aggression, not a response to any genuine change in Cuban behaviour. The stated justifications — Cuba's refusal to extradite ELN leaders and its harbouring of US fugitives — are shown to be pretexts that ignore binding international agreements and the fact that the same conditions existed when Obama removed Cuba from the list in 2015. The real purpose is twofold: to pander to the reactionary Cuban exile community in Florida as Trump shores up his political base, and to create procedural obstacles that make it harder for the incoming Biden administration to reverse course. The article situates this within the broader 60-year campaign by US imperialism to destroy the Cuban Revolution, contrasting Washington's rhetorical accusations of terrorism with its own long record of state terrorism against Cuba and beyond.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is grounded in the Leninist theory of imperialism, understood as the extension of capitalist domination through political, economic, and military means. The article treats the US state not as a neutral arbiter of international law but as the executive committee of the ruling class, whose foreign policy serves the interests of US capital and the maintenance of hemispheric hegemony. The concept of state terrorism is deployed in its Marxist sense: not as a label for non-state actors, but as a systematic method used by imperialism against revolutionary movements and states that challenge its domination. The article also draws on the Marxist critique of reformism, distinguishing between Obama's more sophisticated strategy of "changing the methods used by Washington to destroy the Cuban Revolution" through economic penetration, and Trump's crude frontal assault. Both are understood as serving the same ultimate aim — the restoration of capitalism in Cuba — but through different tactics corresponding to different fractions of the ruling class.

Conjunctural Relevance

The article was published on 12 January 2021, with Trump having less than ten days left in office following his electoral defeat. The conjuncture is defined by the intersection of several factors:

  • Electoral politics: Trump won Florida in the 2020 election, and the reactionary Cuban exile community remains a key constituency in both parties. The designation is a parting gift to that base.
  • Lame-duck offensive: Pompeo's last-minute foreign policy moves — on China, Yemen, and now Cuba — aim to lock in a reactionary legacy and constrain Biden's room for manoeuvre. Removing Cuba from the list would require months of inter-agency review.
  • Colombian sub-imperialism: The Duque government provides cover by demanding extradition of ELN leaders, despite the 2016 peace accord guaranteeing safe passage. Norway, as a guarantor, has backed Cuba's position.
  • Deepening economic crisis: Cuba faces its most severe economic crisis since the fall of the USSR, with GDP dropping 11% in 2020 due to COVID-19's impact on tourism, compounded by unprecedented US sanctions. The designation adds further disincentives for international businesses to engage with Cuba.
  • Internal pressures: The Cuban leadership has responded to the crisis by introducing market-oriented reforms that weaken state planning — a development the article flags as a danger of capitalist restoration.

Where the Argument Continues

The article references but does not develop the analysis of Cuba's internal economic reforms, directing readers to other IDOM articles that explain the shift toward market concessions. This is a crucial thread: the relationship between imperialist pressure and internal capitalist restoration is left as an open question. The broader corpus of In Defence of Marxism would develop this through:

  • Analysis of the Cuban leadership's "updating of the economic model" and its implications for socialist planning
  • The debate over whether market reforms under siege conditions can be contained or inevitably lead to class differentiation and restoration
  • Comparisons with other experiences of revolutionary states under imperialist pressure (Venezuela, North Korea, post-Soviet transitions)
  • The strategic question of how revolutionaries defend a workers' state while opposing bureaucratic deformations and capitalist concessions

Connections

  • Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: The theoretical foundation for understanding US policy as driven by the logic of capital accumulation and geopolitical domination.
  • Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed: The framework for analysing a workers' state under siege that is simultaneously undergoing internal pressures toward capitalist restoration.
  • IDOM articles on Cuba's economic reforms: The companion pieces that examine the internal dimension of the crisis.
  • Against the Stream episodes on US-Latin America policy: Broader coverage of US imperialism's changing tactics across the hemisphere.
  • The history of the Miami Five and Posada Carriles: Concrete examples of US double standards on terrorism that the article references but does not detail.

Key Quotes

  1. "The US statement against Cuba has no real legal basis and is just a politically motivated attack against the Cuban Revolution, with Trump trying to make it as hard as possible for his successor to change tack."

  2. "If we take a dictionary definition of terrorism as 'the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims,' then, clearly, the actions of US imperialism against the Cuban Revolution are precisely acts of terrorism."

  3. "It was not that Obama was a friend of the Cuban Revolution. Quite the opposite. However, Obama represented a section of the US ruling class that realised that 60 years of brute force attempts to overthrow the revolution had failed, and perhaps different tactics were needed."

  4. "The decision will send a powerful signal to businesses and companies around the world (not only in the US), that financial transactions and economic relations with Cuba will be subject to an added layer of scrutiny."

  5. "At the bottom of the continued assault by US imperialism is the fact that, 62 years ago, the Cuban people – the workers, the peasants and the poor – decided to free themselves from its domination."

  6. "As revolutionary Marxists we unconditionally defend and support the Cuban Revolution against imperialism and against the threat of capitalist restoration."