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Focus on post-Castro Cuba raises tricky question of compensation
By Randy Nieves-Ruiz
AFP
MIAMI
Petroleumworld.com 08 09 06
Speculation about Cuba's political outlook without ailing President Fidel Castro at the helm has raised the tricky question of compensation for nationalized US property, which Washington may well end up bankrolling.
The list of claimants ranges from such business giants as Coca-Cola and Texaco to aging Cuban exiles whose properties were seized after the 1959 revolution that brought Castro to power.
The claims handled by the US government, together with interest, amount to eight billion dollars, according to Matias Travieso, a Washington lawyer who represents several companies involved in the dispute. Billions more are sought by Cuban-Americans who were not US citizens at the time of the expropriations.
When Castro refused to pay for the property his government grabbed, the US government retaliated by imposing an economic embargo on the Caribbean island in 1962.
In an ironic twist, the US taxpayer could one day end up financing the compensations, should communist-run Cuba head to the democratic transition Washington hopes will eventually take place.
"There would be a package of (US) aid that would have several components, and the Cuban government could use these funds for the compensation," said Travieso, who authored a study on the subject.
Nicolas Gutierrez, a Miami lawyer who represents 150 claimants, agreed.
"It is likely the US government will lend the new Cuban government the money with which the new Cuban government will pay for the certified list of claims," he said.
Lawyers dealing with the claims say they have seen renewed interest in the issue now that Castro has ceded the power he held for almost 48 years to his brother and designated successor Raul, 75.
Cuban officials insist Fidel Castro, who turns 80 on Sunday, will be back at the helm as soon as he recovers from surgery for intestinal bleeding, but a number of analysts are convinced his days in power are over.
US experts do not expect the younger Castro to bring about any significant changes, but have started discussing the island's post-Raul political future, saying he has a number of enemies, a weak liver and a drinking problem.
Gutierrez said that it could be a while before a Cuban government addresses the claims, but that he had told his clients to prepare for that day.
US President George W. Bush himself spoke of the issue on Monday, saying he hoped "Cuba has the possibility of transforming itself from a tyrannical situation to a different type of society."
He stressed that Cubans on the island should be given a chance to decide the future of their country before Cuban-Americans "take an interest in that country and redress the issues of property confiscation."
The influential Cuban-American National Foundation insisted exiles would not await political change on the island to get involved
But spokeswoman Camila Ruiz conceded it would be premature to take up the question of property claims at this stage, "particularly since the regime utilizes this issue to scare Cubans into thinking the exile wants to go back, retake their property, and kick people out of their homes."
Some US companies have decided they would forgo their claims in favor of a chance to set up shop again in Cuba once Washington lifts its trade embargo, experts say.
"Many multinational companies I have talked to say they will not seek compensation from the Cuban government, because they are much more interested in opportunities," said Jorge Pinon, a former Amoco executive and now a researcher at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Affairs.
AFP 09 0922 GMT 08 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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