Exiles Target Cruise, Hotel Companies to Recoup Their Piece of Cuba
Now that Trump has allowed lawsuits, foreign companies “trafficking” in expropriated properties could be dragged into court.
Havana’s Sierra Maestra port.
Photographer: Lisette Poole/Bloomberg
Cuban exiles have begun suing in U.S. courts to demand compensation for property lost to the communist government, filing test cases that target multinational companies they say profit from confiscated assets.
Four lawsuits have been filed since May 2, when President Donald Trump broke 22 years of precedent to activate a provision of the Helms-Burton Act, one of the federal laws that enforce the U.S. embargo against Cuba, allowing the cases. The U.S. Department of State estimates there are as many as 206,000 potential claims, but many plaintiffs are waiting to gauge the success of the first legal wave. “The flood has not materialized, or at least not yet,” says Pedro Freyre, head of the international practice at Miami law firm Akerman LLP, which advises clients on business in Cuba, including lawsuit target Carnival Corp.