U.S. to discuss w/ Cuba compensation for expropriated firms, WSJ reports

Ampliar

View of the façade of The Wall Street Journal's offices. EFE/File

New York, Dec 22 (EFE).- U.S. authorities say they will discuss with Cuba a solution to the expropriations of a number of U.S. firms by Havana several decades ago, claims that are now worth some $7 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

"Reestablishment of diplomatic relations will allow the U.S. to engage more effectively with the Cuban government on a range of important issues, including the claims of Americans. Resolution of outstanding U.S. claims remains a priority for the U.S. government, but we are unable to provide a specific time frame or details at this time," a State Department official told the daily.

The greater part of the compensations being demanded by U.S. companies are linked to nationalizations of factories, oil refineries, power plants, land and other assets after the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959.

Several firms - including Coca-Cola Co., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. - have pending claims valued at more than $7 billion, the paper said.

The largest such claim is by an affiliate of the office supply firm Office Depot.

After several agreements and mergers in recent years, the firm in question is currently the property of the Cuban Electric Co., an energy company that in 1960 supplied more than 90 percent of the electricity sold in Cuba and which the Castro regime nationalized, the paper said.

Not counting accrued interest, the claim amounts to $267.6 million.

The U.S. Congress in 1964 requested that a Justice Department agency determine the validity of the amounts being requested in compensation from Havana by U.S. firms.

The process, which took six years, ended with the recognition of almost 6,000 claims valued at $1.8 billion, and with accrued interest the total now comes to $7 billion.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced last Wednesday the start of a process to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba, ties that were severed in 1961, given what he called the failure of Washington's policy of isolating the Havana regime over the past five-and-a-half decades.