article_snippet.sent: Yet Obama has stopped short of the formal decision amid indications that the White House was reluctant to grant Cuba's request until other thorny issues - such as restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Havana - were resolved.
article_snippet.sent: The designation not only offends Cuba's pride but also restricts Havana's access to credit and financial systems.
article_snippet.sent: Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate's foreign relations panel, called the recommendation to delist Cuba an important step toward forging a more productive U.S.-Cuba relationship. '
article_snippet.sent: Yet while recent polling has shown broad support for the thaw in both Cuba and The United States, the change has attracted fierce opposition from many other members of Congress - especially those who represent the large Cuban-American population in Florida.
article_snippet.sent: House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday there were 'serious questions' about the wisdom of taking Cuba off the list 'while this dictatorship, which practices repression at home and supports violence throughout the region, continues to hold power.'
article_snippet.sent: On late Wednesday, Cuba's President Raul Castro supporters aggressively heckled a group of Cuban dissidents at a civil society forum in Panama City, drawing criticism from The United States
article_snippet.sent: Although taking Cuba off the US list of state sponsors of terrorism would remove one major obstacle to warming relations, President Barack Obama acknowledged that progress hasn't been as swift as some had hoped.
article_snippet.sent: That hasn't materialized, in part due to disagreements about U.S. diplomats' freedom of movement in Havana.
article_snippet.sent: The United States sees those restrictions as an attempt to stifle dissent by limiting Americans' interactions with Castro's political opponents. '