Fidel Castro’s Cuba under pressure as Donald Trump allows lawsuits on foreign firms in properties seized under late socialist leader

The US president is taking steps to isolate embattled Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who is holding power with help from other countries, including Cuba, China and Russia

Reading Time:3 minutes

A girl waves Cuban flags during an event commemorating the 58th anniversary of Fidel Castro's declaration that the revolution he was leading in the 1950s was a socialist one. Photo: AP

Published: 2:12pm, 17 Apr 2019Updated: 8:06pm, 17 Apr 2019

Stepping up pressure on Cuba, the Trump administration will allow lawsuits against foreign companies doing business in properties seized from Americans after the island’s 1959 revolution, a senior administration official said.

The move marks a change in more than two decades of US policy on Cuba.

President Donald Trump has been taking steps to isolate embattled Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who is holding power with help from other countries, including Cuba, China and Russia. The new policy against Havana could deal a severe blow to Cuba’s efforts to draw foreign investment, and spawn international trade disputes between the US and Europe.

The administration official who provided details of the shift spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement Wednesday by the State Department.

US President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Photo: Reuters

After that announcement, national security adviser John Bolton is expected to discuss the new policy during a midday speech Wednesday in Miami, which is home to thousands of exiles and immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.