By Karen DeYoung Karen DeYoung Associate editor and senior national security correspondent Email Bio Follow March 4 at 7:26 PM The Trump administration partially reversed more than two decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba on Monday, authorizing lawsuits by American citizens against Cuban government entities “trafficking” in property that was confiscated six decades ago by the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro.
Others saw an additional motive. “This is all about Florida 2020,” where thousands of Venezuelans are a voting bloc along with the always-important Cuban Americans, said Richard Feinberg, a professor of international economy at the University of California at San Diego and a Latin America specialist.
At stake are potentially hundreds of thousands of claims — nearly 6,000 of them already certified by the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission — billions of dollars, and protracted legal and diplomatic battles with U.S. and foreign companies operating on property claimed by original owners. The bill, initially opposed by many Democrats, was passed and signed by President Bill Clinton after Cuban fighter jets, in February 1996, shot down two private planes operated by a Miami-based humanitarian group. Cuba disputed that the planes were over international waters.
Great news! Cubans be prepare to disappear
Oorah