Trump to allow U.S. citizens to sue companies using confiscated property in Cuba

The Trump administration will announce Wednesday that it’s authorizing U.S. citizens to sue certain companies doing business in Cuba, a senior administration official confirmed.

White House national security adviser John R. Bolton will announce that the administration plans to enforce a provision of a 1996 law known as Helms-Burton, which allows Cubans who fled Fidel Castro’s communist regime to sue companies that are using their confiscated property on the island.

Mr. Bolton will outline the new policy during a speech in Miami at a gathering of the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association. He said earlier on Twitter that he will discuss “the important steps being taken by the administration to confront security threats related to Cuba, Venezuela, and the democratic crisis in Nicaragua.”

Every president since Bill Clinton has suspended the section of the Helms-Burton act that would allow these lawsuits, fearing complex litigation could entangle trade relationships with allies such as France, Spain and the United Kingdom.