On behalf of the United States, we offer our best wishes to the people of Antigua and Barbuda as you celebrate 36 years of independence.

The United States honors the strength of character and spirit expressed by the people of Antigua and Barbuda during the catastrophic destruction from the recent hurricanes. Efforts by the people of Antigua and Barbuda to come together in support of families and communities devastated by Hurricane Irma underscore the strength and resilience of your nation and set an example for all of us. The United States remains committed to Antigua and Barbuda and will continue our support through this period of recovery.

We look forward to strengthening our partnerships in pursuit of shared goals for the Caribbean as stated in the Caribbean 2020 strategy.

We extend our best wishes to Antigua and Barbuda throughout the year to come.

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The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:

This afternoon Secretary Tillerson called Foreign Minister of Argentina Jorge Faurie to express his condolences on the deaths of five Argentine citizens in the brutal terrorist attack in New York City. The people of the United States mourn these deaths, and in doing so we stand in solidarity with the people and government of Argentina. Secretary Tillerson reiterated that the U.S. government will continue to provide its full support to the New York City Police Department, including through a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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The Department of State has maintained and amended the designation of the Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to add the aliases Marwan Hadid Brigades and Marwan Hadid Brigade. The Department has also amended the group’s designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 to add the additional aliases.

These designations seek to deny AAB the resources it needs to carry out terrorist attacks, and today’s actions further this goal by notifying the U.S. public and the international community that AAB operates under and/or is known by other names. Among other consequences of the group’s designations, all of AAB’s property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group. In addition, knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to the organization is prohibited.

Following a mandated five-year review of AAB’s FTO designation, the Department of State determined that AAB has remained active since its original designation in 2012 and continued its operations, including a June 2014 suicide bombing that killed one and wounded 37 others at a checkpoint in Lebanon and a June 2014 car bombing near Beirut, Lebanon. The Department has also concluded that the group operates in Syria under the name Marwan Hadid Brigades, which has carried out attacks jointly with the FTO and SDGT al-Nusrah Front and has engaged in terrorist training at a camp in Syria.

Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and other governments.

A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.

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SECRETARY TILLERSON: Good morning, all. I want to welcome Deputy Prime Minister Reynders of Belgium to the State Department. It’s a pleasure to have you here.

FOREIGN MINISTER REYNDERS: Thank you.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: I do want to make a comment on yesterday’s events in New York City. Of course, we extend our condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims. This has turned out to be – have been an international event in terms of the victims themselves. We now know we have one Belgian citizen who died in the attack yesterday and five Argentinian citizens, and we have additional Belgian citizens that were injured as well.

We really stand in complete solidarity with Belgium, Argentina, and all other countries against these acts of terrorism. Once again we’ve seen the evil face of terror in our own borders, but this is a face that knows no borders. And certainly, Belgium, Europe, and other countries have had to deal with this evil that confronts us from time to time. We welcome and appreciate the strong coalition of all partners in this fight against terrorism globally, and we will continue that fight until we can eliminate this threat to all American citizens and our friends and allies around the world as well.

So again, thank you, Deputy Prime Minister. Appreciate you coming to see us.

FOREIGN MINISTER REYNDERS: Thank you. Thank you very much for such a welcome. I’m very pleased to come back here to the State Department.

And unfortunately, I was yesterday in New York and I have listened just before to take a train to Washington some information about a terrorist attack, and I expressed my solidarity and the solidarity of Belgium to the American people and the American authorities. And then I have received information about the fact that we have lost a young Belgian woman of 31 years old, and then we have seen that it was also (inaudible) three injured people in the different hospitals.

I want to first thank the American authorities for the first aid services, the medical services, and all the different actions it was possible to organize just after the terrorist attack. Of course, we are sharing the same kind of situation in Europe or in the U.S. or in other part of the world, and we try to fight together against terrorism. We are in the same coalition against Daesh, we fight to rebuild some countries in the world, but I’m sure that we need also to exchange the best practices to fight against radicalization, homegrown terrorism, homegrown violent extremism. It’s a real fact. We have seen that in London, in Berlin, in Paris and Nice, and also in Belgium, and now again in the U.S.

So I am very pleased to listen from you about the condolence of all the families because I have had some people on the phone since yesterday. And I want to assure you that we will continue to work together and to fight together against terrorists. It’s a global challenge and it’s very important to stay together in such a very dramatic situation. Thank you.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you. Thank you, thank you very much.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, should the U.S. suspend the Diversity Visa Lottery?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: I believe that’s all a part of the legislation that’s being considered. Thank you.

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The State Department is closely monitoring the situation. We are referring all questions about the investigation to the FBI and the New York Police Department. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and our prayers for recovery to those affected by this terrible act of terrorism in New York City.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.