White House allows Americans to sue for seized Cuban properties

Americans are now able to sue about 200 Cuban companies that control real estate previously confiscated by the Cuban government.

The White House plans to announce the decision Monday, as part of a partial implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. Congress has suspended Title III six months at a time since it was passed.

The move will allow Americans to file lawsuits in U.S. courts against those companies, the Miami Herald reported.

An untold number of Cuban Americans, a substantial number of which live in South Florida, lost their properties to the Cuban government when they fled their home country decades ago. Lawyers say they could also sue.

The Cuban government has said that the Trump administration’s decision would “dangerously reinforce the blockade against Cuba, flagrantly violate International Law, and directly attack the sovereignty” of other countries, according to the Herald.

The White House could also decide to allow Americans to sue other foreign companies, but is delaying that measure by at least a month as the U.S. tries to increase international support against Venezuela. [Miami Herald] — Katherine Kallergis