(CNN) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must decide whether to approve a plan from State Department officials to classify Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing two US officials. The United States officially removed Cuba from its list of countries that sponsor terrorism in 2015, as part of a short-lived burst of rapprochement during the Obama years. Increased sanctions by the Trump administration and disruption of the tourism industry by the coronavirus pandemic have already battered the island's struggling economy. Whether Pompeo will approve the plan remains unknown, but a Biden administration reversal of the move could take months, the Times reported. And in May, the State Department found that Cuba was among four nations " not cooperating fully " with American counterterrorism efforts last year.

Source: CNN December 30, 2020 03:33 UTC