Trump delays decision on lawsuits over Cuba confiscations

HAVANA – The Trump administration says it is delaying for two weeks any decision on whether to allow lawsuits against companies that profit from U.S.-linked properties confiscated after the island’s 1959 socialist revolution.

The State Department said Wednesday that Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will keep suspending Title III of the Helms-Burton Act through May 1. Title III allows lawsuits against companies that make use of properties that belonged to U.S. citizens or companies or Cubans who later became Americans.

But every president has suspended the law since it was passed in 1996, due to objections from European allies and fears of chaotic litigation that would make future negotiations over compensation from Cuba impossible.

Last month, Trump allowed such lawsuits, but only against Cuban state companies, a largely symbolic measure.