U.S. includes Cuba and Nicaragua in religious freedom blacklist

The United States on Friday (2) included Cuba and Nicaragua in its blacklist of countries that systematically violate religious freedom, which implies possible sanctions against these nations.

On the list of Countries of Special Concern, drawn up annually by the State Department, China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Burma, Eritrea, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan repeat this year.

Including Cuba and Nicaragua is another step in the deteriorating relations of Joe Biden’s administration with Miguel Díaz-Canel in Havana and Daniel Ortega in Managua.

In the background of concern, the United States placed Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam.

The list of organizations violating religious freedom includes, among others, the terrorist group’s Al Shabab, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State (IS), as well as the Taliban, the Yemeni Houthis, and the Russian paramilitaries of the Wagner Group.

The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act obligates the U.S. government to compile an annual list of countries that commit “serious violations of religious freedom,” such as torture, detention, and enforced disappearance of people because of their beliefs.

Countries included on the list are subject to possible sanctions, such as cancellation of scientific and cultural exchanges, suspension of development assistance, blocking loans, or export restrictions.

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