In the 15th century, the Roman Catholic Church issued several papal bulls announcing what became known as the doctrine of discovery that authorized various European powers to conquer the lands of non-Christians. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued the bull Dum Diversas, which authorized King Alfonzo of Portugal to “subjugate the Saracens and pagans and … Continue reading Roman Catholic Church Rejects Doctrine of Discovery
In June 2019, the U.S. instituted a ban on cruise ships from a U.S. port going to Cuba. It had an immediate impact. That same month the number of U.S. visitors was down 20% from the prior June. And the similar figures for July 2019 were down 23.6%, and the Cuban government reduced its forecast … Continue reading Decline of U.S. Visitors to Cuba
A prior post discussed the changes in U.S. implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act that were announced on April 17 by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and discussed by an Assistant Secretary of State. That same day an unidentified senior official of the Department held a briefing for journalists, apparently at the U.S. … Continue reading Additional State Department Briefing on Helms-Burton Changes
The 60 years of U.S. hostility towards Cuba (with the two-year respite (2014-2016) under President Obama) have left many important unresolved issues.[1] Here is at least a partial list of those issues: U.S. ending embargo (blockade) of Cuba? U.S. response to Cuba’s claims for alleged damages from embargo & other acts? U.S. closing its detention … Continue reading Proposed Resolution of U.S.-Cuba Issues
A prior post reported that the Trump Administration was considering not continuing the waiver of the right of certain owners of Cuban property that was expropriated in 1959-60 to bring litigation in U.S. federal courts. Here are two updates. First, Engage Cuba, an U.S. bipartisan coalition supporting normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, published a strong objection … Continue reading Update on Trump Administration’s Threat To Allow U.S. Litigation Over Cuba’s Expropriated Property
Here are updates on several U.S.-Cuba issues. U.S.-Cuba Bilateral Commission Meeting[1] On June 14 in Washington, D.C., the U.S. and Cuba held their seventh meeting of the Bilateral Commission that was started by the Obama Administration and Cuba. Afterwards the State Department said the two parties “reviewed . . . areas for engagement that advance … Continue reading Recent U.S.-Cuba Developments
The U.S. State Department’s Office of the Historian has published two important and largely declassified documents relating to the initial U.S. (Eisenhower Administration) response in 1959-60 to the Cuban Revolution. Here are summaries of those documents. “A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime”[1] . The author of this document, dated March 16, 1960, … Continue reading President Eisenhower and U.S. Covert Plan Against Cuba
On June 1 U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (Rep., FL) and Bill Nelson (Dem., FL) urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to prioritize seeking compensation for Americans whose property was expropriated by the Cuban government at the start of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.[1] The Senators correctly point out … Continue reading U.S. Senators Urge Prioritization of Obtaining Compensation for Cuba’s Expropriation of Property Owned by U.S. Nationals
This week the U.S. State Department has taken two actions regarding Cuba: (1) creation of the Cuba Internet Task Force and (2) granting another six-month extension of the right of U.S. persons to sue traffickers in U.S. property that was expropriated by the Cuban government. U.S.’ Cuba Internet Task Force. On January 23, the U.S. … Continue reading State Department Creates Cuba Internet Task Force and Suspends Enforcement of Statutory Liability for Trafficking in Certain Cuban Expropriated Property
As mentioned in a prior post, on February 7, Senator Amy Klobuchar (Dem., MN) introduced the Freedom To Export to Cuba Act (S.428) with cosponsors Patrick Leahy (Dem., VT) and Michael Enzi (Rep., WY)./ On February 15, Senator Leahy delivered a lengthy and persuasive speech on the Senate floor supporting this bill and ending the embargo. … Continue reading Senator Leahy’s Senate Floor Speech To End Embargo of Cuba
