US Sanctions on Cuba: Trump admin. to allow lawsuits over property seized by Cuba

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03:02

The Trump Administration has announced a major shift in US policy toward Cuba. It's aimed at further isolating the island nation. National Security Adviser John Bolton spoke in Miami about new sanctions and an avenue for lawsuits against foreign companies that do business in Cuba. CGTN's Nitza Soledad Perez reports.

From President Trump's National Security Adviser, announcement of the most dramatic tightening of the US embargo on Cuba in decades. Specifically, John Bolton outlined how a law from 1996, suspended by previous presidents, would be enforced, allowing Americans who've had property confiscated by the Cuban government to sue.

JOHN BOLTON US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER "Americans who have had their private and hard-earned property stolen in Cuba will finally be allowed to sue. Anyone who traffics in property stolen from Americans will not be issued a visa to the United States. They are not welcome here."

This could unleash a sea of lawsuits against global companies, from Spanish corporations running hotels to Chinese and Turkish firms operating in Cuban ports. And many U.S. allies are angry over the move. Also tightened travel restrictions that had been eased during the Obama administration.

JOHN BOLTON US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER "We are also announcing that the Department of the Treasury will implement further regulatory changes to restrict non-family travel to Cuba. These new measures will help steer American dollars away from the Cuban regime, or its military and security services, who control the tourism industry in Cuba."

And for the Cubans who rely on remittances from family members in the US, new limitations: one thousand dollars per person, per quarter.

ALBERTO NAVARRO EU ENVOY TO HAVANA "The extraterritorial application of the US embargo is illegal. It is contrary to international law. I also personally consider it immoral. And in these 70 years, the only thing that the embargo has contributed is suffering for the Cuban people. It has not contributed in any way to the opening of Cuba, or to steps toward democracy or human rights."

NITZA SOLEDAD PEREZ MIAMI "It's not surprising that Miami was chosen as the location for Bolton's announcement - before a friendly anti-Castro group including many Cuban exiles. They are an important constituency Donald Trump needs to impress - in the country's largest swing state - as he eyes a second-term election win in 2020."

Bolton also unveiled new economic sanctions against Venezuela and Nicaragua, the other nations he says make up a 'Troika of Tyranny' along with Cuba. For the Trump administration this tightening is a campaign promise fulfilled. For the Cuban government and its people it could be a devastating blow to an already stagnant economy, struggling to attract foreign investment. NSP CGTN Miami.