Building in Revolution Square in Havana with a famous Che Guevara image / Credit: Kamira/Shutterstock.com
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The Trump administration will for the first time allow lawsuits to be filed in U.S. courts against companies doing business in Cuba that use properties that were confiscated from Cuban-Americans and other U.S. citizens after the Cuban revolution.

According to Reuters, National Security Adviser John Bolton will on Wednesday announce implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. That law was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 but has been waived by every U.S. president for the past 23 years. Implementing the law could expose U.S., European and Canadian companies to legal action worth billions of dollars.

The law allows Americans, including Cubans who have since become U.S. citizens, to bring lawsuits against individuals or companies that “traffic” in property confiscated by Cuba after the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Full implementation of the law comes as the international community has begun warming up to Cuba, pouring billions in foreign direct investment into the country. Spain, for example, is Cuba's third largest trading partner. Spanish hotelier Melia alone has 34 properties in Cuba, according to its website. Companies in Canada, Germany, France and the U.S. have also entered into joint ventures with the Cuban government in light of the Obama administration policies easing restrictions on investment, putting them at risk.

But an onslaught of lawsuits is not a foregone conclusion even with full implementation, according to Akerman attorney Pedro Freyre, who is representing potential defendants.

“Helms-Burton is a particularly technical and complicated piece of legislation,” Freyre said. “This is not a quick claim, it requires a lot of preparation and upfront research to go forward.”

Nick Gutierrez, a former attorney and a Cuban-American, has worked with hundreds of Cuban exile families since taking part in the bill's original passage, organizing legal documents proving ownership of confiscated land with the hope that one day a U.S. president would allow the Title III provision to take effect.

He acknowledges that there will be “a long road ahead.”

Mexico, Canada and Spain passed so-called blocking statutes shortly after Helms-Burton's passage, barring claims from being brought in their respective countries. And even when a company is exposed to U.S. jurisdiction, there is a high standard to bring a suit.

The property must be actively in use for some sort of commercial activity and be worth over $50,000. Plus, plaintiffs must pay a $6,700 filing fee, a provision written into the law to discourage frivolous litigation, Gutierrez said.

Nevertheless, Gutierrez welcomed news that implementation may be imminent.

“This is sort of the long-awaited answer to our prayers. This is the beginning as a powerful disincentive to investing in Cuba,” he said. ”These Spanish companies will hire big-name firms. But we hope this will spur settlements between traffickers and owners.”

The Trump administration in early March announced a partial implementation of the Helms-Burton Act, allowing lawsuits against 200 Cuban entities, including hotels, beverage manufacturers and tourism agencies, that were blacklisted by the U.S. because they have ties to Cuba's military and intelligence services.

The move, hailed by the Cuban American Bar Association and Florida's U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, was largely symbolic, as prosecuting Cuban-owned establishments is nearly impossible.