Belly of The Beast Cuba.- Exclusive Interview with Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez. Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down for an exclusive interview with Colombia’s vice president, Francia Márquez, during Havana’s annual international book fair. During her visit, Márquez made headlines by calling on the U.S. to remove Cuba from its State Sponsors of Terrorism list, citing the fundamental role Cuba has played in accompanying Colombia’s peace processes over the years. Colombia’s first Black vice president criticized the U.S. blockade and said that the U.S. has played a role of “imposition” in Latin America and the Caribbean. Márquez said Colombia had “a lot to learn from Cuba,” and announced a new chapter in closer relations between the two countries. Márquez also spoke of her own process of personal and political transformation as an Afro-Colombian woman from Colombia’s Pacific coast.