Category: News & Media

The following editorial written by PobleteTamargo attorney, Mauricio Tamargo, was featured in the September 2016 edition of The Chaldean News. To read the published article, visit The Chaldean News Guest Columns page, found here.

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When the United States liberated Iraq over a decade ago, Iraqi-Americans were hopeful that thousands of American Chaldean families would finally see justice for property stolen by Iraq. Corporations, American and foreign, have received restitution through programs designed exclusively for business operations. Sadly, these Americans are still fighting for justice. Now we are asking Congress and the Administration to help.

Being Christians in a Muslim country made it very difficult to live in Iraq. For generations, these families worked hard to succeed despite discrimination and persecution. They hoped justice would finally come with the American liberation of their homeland. Our law firm represents some of these families. As Chaldeans in Iraq, they were a minority, but found strength in their faith and community. Then they became a target of a merciless regime. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein destroyed the lives, homes and communities of countless Iraqis. In many cases, victims sought justice in Iraqi courts, but even after American liberation, Iraq’s corrupt legal system remained incapable of administering justice.

On behalf of our clients, we raised this issue with the Iraqi government, ambassadors and other high-ranking officials, but have yet to see any action. Although there is still hope for a negotiated settlement, other steps must be taken. There are still thousands of families dealing with uncompensated property losses. Today, the Iraqi Chaldean community is once again vulnerable to property confiscation and human rights abuses.

Chaldeans are a religious and ethnic minority group in Iraq. For years this minority status did not hinder efforts by our client and many others from becoming prominent members of their community. Once Saddam Hussein took power in 1979, the Iraqi government quickly became the vehicle by which the dictator intensified discrimination against religious minorities. Those who remained in their homes were eventually forced out after suffering political imprisonment and often violent religious persecution.

The property confiscated from our client was converted into a base for military operations. The land was taken over by the United States from the Hussein Regime in 2003. In 2009, the U.S. allegedly transferred control back to Iraq but still maintains a presence at this camp. Located in a commercially thriving area with many civilian homes and businesses, the U.S. incorporated this property into the reconstruction plans for Iraq. A vast amount of confiscated properties met similar fates.

Today there are thousands of American families of Iraqi descent that are still seeking justice. This community has been left broken, by not only institutionalized discrimination by the Iraqi government, but also the gross injustice of being denied closure. Rule of law and protection of property rights are hallmarks of a democratic and free society — values that must be defended.

Iraqi law, U.S. law, and the agreements between our two nations encourages compensation. America has lost thousands of American lives and invested billions in the liberation and reconstruction of Iraq. It is critical to stand up for what is right today or leave future generations vulnerable to even greater repression. The U.S. government has the tools to fight for these freedoms. We are only asking that they defend it.

On behalf of these American citizens, we are requesting that Congress authorize a claims program under the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission at the Department of Justice. As former chairman of the commission, I remain hopeful for a negotiation settlement of these claims and am confident that resolution of this injustice can be found through a claims program, the same as many programs have done in the past. We want to ensure that every possible step is taken to compel Iraq to follow through.

Mauricio Tamargo is an attorney at PobleteTamargo, LLP, in Alexandria, Virginia. He is the former chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission at the Department of Justice.

From The Washington Examiner

August 4, 2016

A Lebanese citizen and permanent US resident, Nizar Zakka has lived in Washington, D.C. for many years. He was arrested in Iran last September while on travel to attend an International Conference and Exhibition on Women in Sustainable Development. Zakka was invited to serve as an event speaker by an Iranian official. During that visit he was arrested in Iran and has been detained in long-term solitary confinement since last September under nonspecific charges.

Jason Poblete, attorney for Zakka, says that his health is deteriorating, especially during the past months, and that he is on a hunger strike to protest his harsh treatment.

“The family is concerned about his well-being and they are asking the US government and anybody who can to please help secure his release,” Poblete told the Washington Examiner.

Zakka was working on a US government grant when he traveled to Iran. Amnesty International reported that Zakka had helped to set up a “regional alliance of information and technology organizations” across over a dozen companies in the Middle East and North Africa region. 

The latest reports that the US had sent Iran $400 million cash payment at the same time that American prisoners were sent home has many, including Poblete, worried that it was essentially a ransom, and that Iran may seek additional concessions before Zakka is released. 

“We hope that our government is not salvaging the [nuclear deal] on the backs and lives of these innocent people, including Mr. Zakka,” Poblete said. 

According to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual, however, the US government has wide discretion in advocating for legal permanent residents. “At times, you will come across arrest cases of individuals who are not US citizens or nationals but who are legal permanent residents with strong ties to the United States,” the manual states. 

“Their arrest may come to your attention from other family members in the United States, other prisoners, congressional offices, or even host government officials who on occasion are not quite clear on the exact status of a US ‘green card’ holder.”

“The department’s general guidance in such cases is: While consular officers do not have the right to demand consular access and visitation for US Lawful Permanent Resident Aliens (LPRs), they may do so on a courtesy basis.”

The complete article in the Washington Examiner can be found here.

On July 28, the United States and Cuba met to discuss the certified claims against the Cuban government. Following the talks, State Department officials briefed reporters, calling the negotiations “very substantial discussions.” The Cuban Government however, walked away with quite a different idea of what had occurred. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, Abelardo Moreno, held his own news conference stating “we are not negotiation yet. …We are now engaged in informational talks.”

According to Moreno, US representatives “have stated the need to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, but … these are going to be extremely complex negotiations from all points of view … and we cannot rush things.”

Jason Poblete, attorney at PobleteTamargo, LLP who specializes in property claims, spoke to In Cuba Today on the matter. Moreno’s statements are typical of these types of discussions, but Poblete points out that the discussions “are negotiations because they’re sitting at a table and talking about the issue,” and that Moreno’s comments show Cuba’s decision to delay the process.

Poblete goes on to add that, “These statements show they are not interested in finding a solution, that there is a tactic to delay.” It is possible that the Cuban government is waiting until after the US Presidential elections to see if a better deal arises. This would also maintain the status quo in Cuba until 2018, when Castro surrenders the presidency.

In a briefing, the State Department told press that the United States is seeking compensation for the illegal seizure of American owned property amounting to $1.9 billion, $2.2 billion in outstanding judgements against Cuba and a “hundred to a couple hundred millions of dollars” in interest that the US government had in mining.

Cuba wants almost $300 billion in compensation for what they claim to be damages caused by the US trade embargo. Moreno noted, “The solution to the issue of compensations … is obviously directly linked to the blockade. I believe that all of you understand that normalization of relations between the two countries will be very difficult, if not impossible, while the blockade against Cuba remains in place.”

The State Department said that these negotiations are similar to others the US has experienced in  negotiating claims with other countries and that both sides “are committed to trying to resolve this in a mutually satisfactory manner.”

Poblete points out that, “If the Cubans are interested in having the US sanctions removed, they would pay the claims, which would help the groups in Washington that are pushing for the elimination of sanctions” on Havana.

The second meeting between the two countries to discuss claims ended without agreement on a date for a follow-up meeting, as did the first meeting last year.

The entire article from In Cuba Today can be found here.

As diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba are restored many families with US Certified Claims against the government of Cuba are becoming more and more concerned that their claims will remain unsettled. A recent article in The Miami Herald discusses these concerns as many American ventures in Cuba involve stolen property.

The shipping port La Maritima Parreño in Santiago, Cuba, was once owned by the Garcia-Bengochea family until it was confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960. Since then, the Garcai-Bengochea family has watched as numerous international corporations have conducted business on their property, including Carnival Cruise Line, the China Harbour Engineering Co. and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.

Former chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, and attorney at PobleteTamargo, discussed this growing concern in the article. “They are really running out of time to do this,” Tamargo said. “I understand some gestures of opening the process to begin discussions, but we’ve tone well beyond what we should be doing.”

Over half a century has passed since the Castro regime confiscated property from Americans and Cubans alike. The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has certified 5,913 of the claims by Americans valued at around $8 billion. US law dictates the US government must negotiate a settlement for the claims with the Cuban government but has yet to show any progress on settling the claims.

“I am quite distressed at the level of commerce that is occurring between the two countries,” Tamargo said. “Stop giving these trade concessions; start forcing them to make an offer and settle these claims.”

Though some remain optimistic that claims will be settled, many worry that the changes to trade and travel restrictions with Cuba has depleted US leverage.

In June, Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-SC) and Albio Sires (D-NJ) requested an update on the progress of this issue from the State Department. As of July 8, they have not received a response.

“This was important at one time,” Duncan said of the claims. “The fact it has yet to be addressed is one of the most egregious items that’s out there in regards to normalizing with Cuba.”

“They’re getting everything they want, and we’re not getting anything in return.”

The full article in The Miami Herald can be found here.

The heirs to one of Cuba’s largest textile companies, expropriated by the Castro regime during the Communist takeover, is seeking payback for what was stolen from their family. Textilera Ariguanabo was operated by Burke Osborne Hedges who was forced to flee Cuba in 1959, leaving behind the family textile business in addition to more than 20 other properties. According to The Tamba Bay Times, the properties are valued at $50 million.

Before the expropriation of Textilera Ariguanabo, the company was known for the free health care and high wages provided by the Hedges family. Articles in Fortune and Reader’s Digest in the 1940’s praised the Cuban business as one of the largest on the island before Batista became president, getting noticed for how well it treated its employees.

Though the family had not filed a claim before the deadline through the US Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (“FCSC”), according to attorney Jason Poblete, that should not matter.

Through 1972, the FCSC accepted claims for property nationalized by the Cuban government, and then from 2005-2006 the commission reconvened to consider additional properties that had been nationalized after 1967. According to Poblete, that set precedent that the claims program can be reopened once again.

“It will signal to foreign investors and governments around that world, that the U.S. will stand by its taxpayers, as long as it takes, anywhere foreign governments take property without compensation,” he said in the Tampa Bay Times article.

The full article in the Tampa Bay Times can be found here.