American Airlines, Latam Airlines Sued Over Seized Cuban Airport
25 Setembro 2019 - 7:54PM
Dow Jones News
By Mengqi Sun
A U.S. citizen sued two airline companies in a U.S. federal
court under a newly revived provision that permits legal action by
U.S. citizens or entities against companies doing business on
property that was confiscated by the Cuban government.
The suit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Florida, is the latest to come after the Trump
administration lifted a suspension of a provision of the 1996
Helms-Burton Act in May. The provision allows certain U.S.
nationals with claims to property confiscated by the Cuban
government to seek damages from companies operating on that
property.
Jose Ramon López Regueiro, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said
American Airlines Inc. and Chile-based Latam Airlines Group SA have
benefited from the Cuban airport his father once owned before it
was seized by Fidel Castro's government by using its facilities for
cargo and passenger transport, according to the complaint.
The airport, now called José Martí International Airport, is
Cuba's main domestic and international airport, according to the
complaint. Mr. Regueiro, who lives in Miami, is seeking monetary
damages from the two airline companies.
"American Airlines service to Cuba including José Martí
International Airport in Havana is authorized by the U.S.
government including the Department of Transportation and the U.S.
Office of Foreign Assets Control," Joshua Freed, a spokesman for
American Airlines, said on Wednesday. "We'll review this lawsuit in
detail and vigorously defend our service to Cuba."
Latam Airlines didn't immediately provide a comment.
Mr. Regueiro's father purchased the airport, known at the time
as the Rancho-Boyeros Airport, from Pan American Airways for $1.5
million in 1952, the complaint said. His father then modernized the
airport by extending the runway and building a new terminal, before
it was confiscated by the communist government in 1959, according
to the complaint.
The lawsuit is the latest filed since the Title III provision of
the federal law was implemented for the first time in 23 years.
Since this May, lawsuits have been filed against several companies
including cruise operator Carnival Corp., hotel-search company
Trivago NV and French bank Société Générale SA.
Write to Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 25, 2019 18:39 ET (22:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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