§6081 Findings

Summary

Congress finds that people have a basic right to own property under the U.S. Constitution. Since Fidel Castro took power in 1959, the Cuban government has taken property from millions of Cuban citizens, thousands of United States nationals, and thousands of Cubans who later became U.S. citizens after seeking asylum. Those wrongful takings hurt international respect between nations, slow trade, and hurt economic growth. Congress also finds that Cuba is offering foreign investors a share or management role in assets, some of which came from those seizures. That trade in confiscated property gives the Cuban government needed funds and resources (including hard currency, oil, and investment and expertise) and undercuts U.S. foreign policy goals and the protection of U.S. claimants. The State Department warned that selling such property makes returning it harder. International courts do not fully fix these wrongs, and international law allows rules about conduct that has strong effects here. The United States must protect its citizens, including by giving them private legal remedies, so victims can seek court relief in U.S. courts and deny profits to traffickers.