Nearly 6,000 U.S. individuals and companies are seeking compensation for Cuban property confiscated after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, with certified claims now estimated at about $9 billion including interest, according to U.S. government data and industry estimates collected by Bloomberg.
The issue has resurfaced as Washington intensifies pressure on Cuba and officials explore possible negotiations that could reshape relations between the two countries. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed last week that his government has held talks with U.S. officials, describing them as early-stage discussions aimed at addressing longstanding tensions between the two countries.
The property claims date back to the early years of the Cuban revolution, when the new government nationalized land, factories, oil refineries and other assets previously owned by U.S. nationals. The U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has certified 5,913 claims originally valued at $1.9 billion. With decades of accumulated interest, the total is now estimated at roughly $9.3 billion, as Bloomberg estimates.
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The claims have become central to any discussion about restoring economic ties. A 1996 U.S. law known as the Helms-Burton Act requires resolution of certified property claims before the United States can fully normalize relations with Cuba.
That law is also at the center of ongoing litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices recently heard arguments in two cases examining whether U.S. nationals can seek damages from companies or entities that allegedly benefited from confiscated property.
In one case, ExxonMobil is seeking more than $1 billion from Cuban state-owned company CIMEX over oil assets seized in 1960. Another lawsuit involves cruise operators including Royal Caribbean and Carnival over their use of a Havana port terminal previously controlled by a U.S. firm.
Title III of the Helms-Burton Act allows claimants to sue companies accused of "trafficking" in confiscated property. The provision remained suspended for decades before being activated during President Donald Trump's first term, prompting dozens of lawsuits.
Legal experts say the litigation highlights the broader obstacle facing investors and policymakers. "Until that's been cleared up, it will be difficult for anyone in the U.S. or abroad to make inroads there," said Ryan Paylor, a portfolio manager at Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors.
Some analysts say settlement mechanisms could include tax incentives, waived fees or financing backed by tourism revenues if economic relations eventually normalize. But many claimants say progress has been slow.
"It's been so many years," said Carolyn Chester, who inherited her family's claim after property including 80 acres of land, company shares and jewelry was confiscated in the early 1960s. "We still don't have anything to show for it."
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