Clinton extends Helms-Burton suspension
On January 3, US President Bill Clinton formally suspended implementation of the controversial Title III of the Cuban Liberty Act of 1996 — better known as "Helms-Burton" — for another six months. Title III empowers US citizens to sue foreign nationals and corporations in US courts for "trafficking" in properties which Cuba nationalised after the 1959 revolution.
Clinton had been expected to renew the suspension as a reward to the European Union, which passed a resolution on December 2 warning that Europe's trade relations with Cuba would depend on "improvements in human rights and political freedom" in Cuba. Commerce under secretary Stuart Eizenstat, Clinton's special envoy to win support for Helms-Burton among US allies, said on January 3 that so far the act had succeeded in causing at least 12 foreign firms to withdraw their investments in Cuba.
Meanwhile, the Clinton administration is vigorously enforcing other provisions of the law, especially the section denying visas to executives of foreign companies trading with Cuba.
On December 25, Cuba's National Assembly passed an "antidote law" against Helms-Burton, declaring invalid any claim made under Helms-Burton, barring from any future US-Cuba property settlements anyone who filed a claim under Helms-Burton and giving Cubans the right to demand compensation for damages caused by US policies.
[From 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY, 10012, USA; email nicanet@blythe.org.]