Category: News & Media

As a part of the Obama Administration’s policy of renewing relations with Cuba, regulations from the Commerce and Treasury Departments have been finalized, which will ease sanctions and weaken the US Trade Embargo on Cuba.

In an article from the Washington Examiner, the reactions of legislators and those on capitol hill to unilateral action taken by the President are discussed. Representatives from both the Treasury and Commerce Department voiced support for the regulatory changes supporting the President’s Cuba policy. Multiple members of Congress, however expressed their disagreement with the amendments which will become official as of Monday, September 21, once they are published in the Federal Register.

Critics of the administration’s steps toward normal relations express concern over the concessions beng made to the Castro regime with little to no return from the Cuban government.

Jason Poblete, attorney with Poblete Tamargo, a firm representing claimants still waiting for the Obama Administration to acknowledge the billions of dollars in seized assets taken by the Castro regime following the revolution in 1959, spoke to the Washington Examiner as an expert on sanctions on Cuba on the lack of a real private sector in Cuban

commerce as the Castro government maintains control over the majority of all businesses. This control makes any private-sector activity subject to intervention by the Cuban government.

The complete editorial and commentary from the Washington Examiner can be read here.

Following the Subcommittee Hearing on Agricultural Trade With Cuba held on September 9, attention to recent support for pro-trade measures with Cuba have increased. In an article from the Sun Herald titled “Arkansas Rice Farmer Hopes For Sales to Cuba”, the agricultural sector and those representing it discuss the trade embargo in terms of Agricultural incentives.

Currently, American farmers are looking to Cuba for a possible thriving market with 11 million people without enough working farms. Before the trade embargo took effect in 1960, Cuba imported more than 250,000 metric tons of US rice, in addition to many other food staples grown on American farms, which came to an end following the embargo. However, U.S. laws were amended in the 1990s and 2000 to allow for export of food and medicine.

Congressional representatives are seeking to catalyze agricultural sales to Cuba as they look to ease rules against the use of credit, which has won the support of many lawmakers in farm based states.

Regardless of support from agriculturally based Congressmen, Cuba might not jump on board. Countries currently supplying Cuba with rice, like Vietnam, give Cuba more than 2 years to pay for a years worth of rice, something American companies are not likely to do.

With three bills in the Senate aiming to allow agricultural products to be sold to Cuba, this Congressional session will require much more support for such legislation as it begins with an already jam packed agenda.

With so many topics at the top of the priority list for Congress, it will be interesting to see if room will be made for other issues, including those regarding agricultural trade with Cuba.

The entire article in the Sun Herald can be read here.

As the Obama administration continues with efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, many questions have been asked regarding the lack of transparency behind the advocacy campaign pushing for the cooperation between the two nations.

Reports investigating the lobbying efforts and behind-the-scenes negotiations have pointed to a Denver-based government relations firm as the leading source behind the million-dollar campaign. However, records disclosing any sort of lobbying movement have yet to turn up on the Congressional database.

Word among Cuba policy specialists suggest that there were public advocacy campaigns and lobbying efforts taking place on behalf of the Obama administrations’ rapprochment with Cuba, but there was never any evidence supporting the rumors. Recently, reports have been appearing in various news sources accrediting the Denver firm as the group backing efforts by the President to renew diplomatic relations.

“All we want is a level playing field,” said Jason Poblete, registered lobbyist and attorney with Poblete Tamargo LLP, a firm representing claimants seeking compensation for their assets seized by the Castro regime.

Many government and ethics watchdogs say that lobbying disclosure is based on a self-reporting system, allowing much to go unreported when so little is enforced.

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

A Senate Committee has passed legislation aimed at boosting agricultural trade with Cuba. In an article published on July 27, the most recent efforts of Congress to normalize relations with Cuba are discussed.

Many lawmakers like Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) have sponsored legislation that would increase trade with Cuba, something that many on the hill feel would be beneficial for their home state businesses. Other representatives, including many from South Florida like Marco Rubio, are still working to thwart efforts to make business with Cuba possible.

Jason Poblete, former Congressional hill staffer and an international law and federal regulatory attorney at Poblete Tamargo LLP, spoke with McClatchy DC on the various measures being taken on both the Senate and House floors.

Though bills may make it through various committees, they will also have to make it through the House or Senate side with amendments intact in order for the legislation to be successful.

The McClatchy DC article is available here.

In a recent editorial titled “US-Cuba Thaw Could Bring Staples a Windfall,” Taryn Luna, author at the Boston Globe, talks with Mauricio Tamargo, certified claims attorney, as she discusses the changing hands of ownership over corporate claims to Cuban assets.

After acquiring Office Depot Inc., Staples Inc., will be in possession of a claim to the Cuban Electric Company, which had all assets seized by the Castro regime in 1960. There are more than 5,900 claims against the government of Cuba by American companies and individuals. The US Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (“FCSC”) orignally certified the claim for Cuban Electric to be worth approximately $267 million, which translates to a value of almost $8 billion today.

In her discussion of the Office Depot-Staples merger, Luna examines the issue of corporate claims to Cuban assets. Questions have risen as to whether Cuba has the financial means to pay the billions of dollars in claims to certified claim holders, if and when settlement is discussed.

A Creighton study from 2007 describes the alternative means of compensation to companies and individuals for losses attributed to assets seized by Castro. Suggested plans of compensation, for example, would be to give a company exclusive rights to selling their products in major Cuban cities.

Former FCSC chairman, and expert on claims settlement, Mauricio Tamargo disagrees with these proposed ideas. Tamargo explains that a complete change in political and economic policy would be required for US claims holders to safely and securely invest in companies without facing the risk of seizure.

To read the complete editorial in the Boston Globe go here.