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Houston Chronicle: Exxon Sues Cuba Over Seized Assets by Castro

May 5, 2019 James Osborne of the Houston Chronicle

Six decades ago, the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro ordered federal inspectors to raid Standard Oil offices there, seizing maps and geological records in what was to become the first step in an expropriation that would go on to include a refinery, ports and more than 100 gas stations.

Exxon Mobil, Standard’s successor, filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday against Cuba’s national oil company and a state-owned industrial conglomerate for approximately $280 million, seeking compensation for the value of the assets plus almost six decades of interest.

The legal action followed an announcement by the White House last month that President Donald Trump would allow companies and individuals to sue in U.S. federal court for assets seized during the Cuban Revolution.

Exxon, the first publicly traded company to file a claim, declined to comment on the reason for the litigation Friday. 

The Irving-based oil giant claimed the assets seized six decades ago, “are still in use today even though [Exxon] has never received any compensation for this property.”

Ranging from hotels to ports to communications systems, the assets seized by Cuban forces beginning in the late 1950s have been valued at approximately $8 billion by the Justice Department’s Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Congress passed a law allowing companies to sue for compensation in 1996, but European nations, concerned about how such a law might affect their trade relations with the Caribbean nation, threatened to file a claim against the United States at the World Trade Organization if the lawsuits went ahead.

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all chose to suspend the provision of the law that allows companies to sue. 

Trump, unhappy with Cuba’s decision to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, decided to allow the litigation to move ahead.

Under Trump’s order, companies were allowed to begin filing suit for Cuban claims as of midnight Thursday. So far, Exxon is the only publicly-traded company to do so, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a business organization advocating for greater trade between the two nations.

“Exxon has said nothing. This is hugely surprising,” he said. “Exxon Mobil is going to be the accelerant for others to decide to sue. It gives a lot of companies political cover and commercial justification to move ahead on their claims.”

For a longer version of this article, please visit HoustonChronicle.com. 

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