“Our view, which differs from that of some of our partners, is that a policy of engagement with this regime has failed miserably,” the State Department said in an emailed response Thursday to questions about the lawsuits’ impact on foreign relations.
Cuba’s government didn’t respond to a request for comment. But this month, Josefina Vidal -- Cuba’s ambassador to Canada and the negotiator who normalized relations with the U.S. during the Obama years -- said America had exaggerated Cuban influence in Venezuela. She also said the Trump approach wouldn’t do anything to remove the regime in Havana.
Expired Time
For years, there was an effort to settle many of the claims, and such a negotiated deal was seen as a necessary precursor to further rapprochement -- including an eventual lifting of the U.S. embargo.
The Obama administration dallied because it failed to anticipate Trump’s defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton, said John Kavulich, president of the New York-based Trade and Economic Council, which acts as a liaison for companies interested in doing business on the island. The group officially takes no political positions, but its web site displayed a countdown clock to the opening of the lawsuit window.
Kavulich said he was surprised that Trump, who trumpets his deal-making prowess, hadn’t attempted a compromise.
“That one’s a pretty easy one,” he said. “It’s a real-estate settlement. This has now left the political process and moved into the judicial process.”
Lost Land
For Lopez, one of the first filings will be for the woman who appeared at his office not long ago and matter-of-factly produced from a plastic supermarket bag the 1903 parchment deed to a massive sugar plantation.
But he acknowledges that many challenges lie ahead, including actually collecting any awards. He also questioned whether inherited property claims will be permitted to proceed.