Cuba Denounces at UN Entry into Force of US Extraterritorial Laws

The Trump administration announced on April 17 that as part of the blockade Washington has maintained for 57 years, it will habilitate on May 2 Titles III and IV of the Helms-Burton Law, the Ambassador recalled.

Since the Helms-Burton was signed by then president William Clinton, Washington has made great efforts to universalized the economic hostility against Cuba by exerting brutal and illegal pressures and sanctions on third nations, their governments and companies, Rodriguez told an assembly of the Non Aligned Movement on Tuesday.

The Helms-Burton Act went into effect in 1996, but successive US administration suspended the application of Titles III and IV for the negative repercussions they would have on allied countries.

This law rests on two key lies: the notion that nationalizations that the fledging revolutionary put into effect right after the triumph of the revolution were unduly and illegitimate and that Cuba is a threat to the national security of the US, the diplomat explained.

She asserted Cuba followed protocols established by international laws on the issue and it has been opened to talk things out and find solutions, as it did with companies of third countries.

Titles III and IV allow American juridical persons and enterprises to file lawsuits at US courts against Cuban and foreign companies and their top executives for having invested and done business of any kind involving nationalized properties in Cuba. They can also be barred from entering the US.

Canada, the European Union have warned they would protect their enterprises doing business in Cuba from the extraterritorial application by Washington of US laws against their nationals and companies. Foreign Executives in the island have reiterated their willingness and stance of keeping business with Cuba.