Suspension of a Helms-Burton provision stirs flurry of confusion in Spanish media

Spanish newspapers were all in a dither Wednesday morning, reporting in their websites that President Obama had "suspended the Helms-Burton Law for six months." After an initial flurry, the websites corrected themselves and provided the right information -- that Obama had waived for six months Chapter 3 of that law, which permits lawsuits against foreign companies that use Cuban property once owned by Americans. To quote The Associated Press' report on Obama's action:
• "The waiver has become routine. Both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush blocked the ability of U.S. citizens to sue over properties seized after Cuba's 1959 revolution. The provision is contained in the Helms-Burton Act, sponsored by the late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms and Rep. Dan Burton, which forbids U.S. officials from restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba as long as either Fidel or Raúl Castro is in charge.
"Using language virtually identical to that which Bush used in his first waiver, Obama wrote Tuesday to members of Congress that the waiver is 'necessary to the national interests of the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.'
"Cuban-American groups oppose the waiver, but the European Union supports it, calling the law a U.S. attempt to impose its anti-Cuba policy on other nations.
"The letter from Obama came as Bush's final waiver was about to expire."
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Comments

[grantF]

Other exceptions have been made in the past