US announces tightening of trade embargo on Cuba

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Monday announced it will begin tightening a trade embargo on Cuba by lifting the suspension on lawsuits of Cuban entities for using properties confiscated after the 1959 revolution.

The announcement by the administration limits the lawsuits to around 200 companies and entities who already have special U.S. sanctions placed on them because of ties they have to the Cuban military and intelligence.

Some of the other businesses include hotels and goods manufacturers, which are joint ventures with foreign companies. It seems, however, that these foreign companies would not be able to be sued.

"We encourage any person doing business in Cuba to reconsider whether they are trafficking in confiscated property and abetting the Cuban dictatorship," read a statement from the State Department.

The move by Washington is put up as a response to Havana's support for Venezuelan President Nicoloas Maduro, who the U.S. is trying to depose to prop up opposition leader and National Assembly President Juan Guaido.

Guaido declared power Jan. 23, a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.

Cuba, along with Turkey, Russia, Iran, China and Bolivia reiterated their support for Maduro, who insists he is a victim of a U.S.-orchestrated coup and vowed to cut all diplomatic and political ties with the U.S. amid spiraling economic and humanitarian crises in the country.

Following a revolution led by former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1959, Havana's economy has faced six decades of a trade embargo from the U.S. and has constantly been plagued with being in a state of low growth.

The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996, or Helms–Burton Act, was created to expand on the trade embargo to pressure foreign entities from stopping trade with Cuban companies using "confiscated property." However, every U.S. president had offered a suspension which would stop any lawsuits towards these foreign companies.

The new suspension is the first time lawsuits will be allowed to be filed and will last until April 17.