II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 381

To strengthen international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba,

to develop a plan to support a transition government leading to a democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 9 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Mr. HELMS (for himself, Mr. DOLE, Mr. MACK, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. D’AMATO, Mr. HATCH, Mr. GRAMM, Mr. THURMOND, Mr.

FAIRCLOTH, Mr. GREGG, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. HOLLINGS, Ms. SNOWE, Mr.

KYL, Mr. THOMAS, and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and ordered held at the desk until the close of business

February 10, 1995

FEBRUARY 10 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To strengthen international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, to develop a plan to support a transition government leading to a democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD)

4 Act of 1995’’.

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

6 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Purposes.

Sec. 4. Definitions.

TITLE I—STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST

THE CASTRO GOVERNMENT

Sec. 101. Statement of policy.

Sec. 102. Enforcement of the economic embargo of Cuba.

Sec. 103. Prohibition against indirect financing of Cuba.

Sec. 104. United States opposition to Cuban membership in international financial institutions.

Sec. 105. United States opposition to readmission of the Government of Cuba

to the Organization of American States.

Sec. 106. Assistance by the independent states of the former Soviet Union for

the Government of Cuba.

Sec. 107. Television broadcasting to Cuba.

Sec. 108. Reports on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign countries.

Sec. 109. Importation sanction against certain Cuban trading partners.

TITLE II—SUPPORT FOR A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

Sec. 201. Policy toward a transition government and a democratically elected

government in Cuba.

Sec. 202. Authorization of assistance for the Cuban people.

Sec. 203. Implementation; reports to Congress.

Sec. 204. Termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.

Sec. 205. Requirements for a transition government.

Sec. 206. Requirements for a democratically elected government.

TITLE III—PROTECTION OF AMERICAN PROPERTY RIGHTS

ABROAD

Sec. 301. Exclusion from the United States of aliens who have confiscated

property claimed by United States persons.

Sec. 302. Liability for trafficking in confiscated property claimed by United

States persons.

Sec. 303. Determination of claims to confiscated property.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The economy of Cuba has experienced a de4 cline of approximately 60 percent in the last 5 years

5 as a result of—

6 (A) the reduction in its subsidization by

7 the former Soviet Union;

8 (B) 36 years of Communist tyranny and

9 economic mismanagement by the Castro govern10 ment;

11 (C) the precipitous decline in trade be12 tween Cuba and the countries of the former So13 viet bloc; and

14 (D) the policy of the Russian Government

15 and the countries of the former Soviet bloc to

16 conduct economic relations with Cuba predomi17 nantly on commercial terms.

18 (2) At the same time, the welfare and health of

19 the Cuban people have substantially deteriorated as

20 a result of Cuba’s economic decline and the refusal

21 of the Castro regime to permit free and fair demo22 cratic elections in Cuba or to adopt any economic or

23 political reforms that would lead to democracy, a

24 market economy, or an economic recovery.

25 (3) The repression of the Cuban people, includ26 ing a ban on free and fair democratic elections and
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1 the continuing violation of fundamental human

2 rights, has isolated the Cuban regime as the only

3 nondemocratic government in the Western Hemi4 sphere.

5 (4) As long as no such economic or political re6 forms are adopted by the Cuban government, the

7 economic condition of the country and the welfare of

8 the Cuban people will not improve in any significant

9 way.

10 (5) Fidel Castro has defined democratic plural11 ism as ‘‘pluralistic garbage’’ and has made clear

12 that he has no intention of permitting free and fair

13 democratic elections in Cuba or otherwise tolerating

14 the democratization of Cuban society.

15 (6) The Castro government, in an attempt to

16 retain absolute political power, continues to utilize,

17 as it has from its inception, torture in various forms

18 (including psychiatric abuse), execution, exile,

19 confiscation, political imprisonment, and other forms

20 of terror and repression as most recently dem21 onstrated by the massacre of more than 70 Cuban

22 men, women, and children attempting to flee Cuba.

23 (7) The Castro government holds hostage in

24 Cuba innocent Cubans whose relatives have escaped

25 the country.
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1 (8) The Castro government has threatened

2 international peace and security by engaging in acts

3 of armed subversion and terrorism, such as the

4 training and arming of groups dedicated to inter5 national violence.

6 (9) The Government of Cuba engages in illegal

7 international narcotics trade and harbors fugitives

8 from justice in the United States.

9 (10) The totalitarian nature of the Castro re10 gime has deprived the Cuban people of any peaceful

11 means to improve their condition and has led thou12 sands of Cuban citizens to risk or lose their lives in

13 dangerous attempts to escape from Cuba to freedom.

14 (11) Attempts to escape from Cuba and coura15 geous acts of defiance of the Castro regime by

16 Cuban pro-democracy and human rights groups have

17 ensured the international community’s continued

18 awareness of, and concern for, the plight of Cuba.

19 (12) The Cuban people deserve to be assisted in

20 a decisive manner in order to end the tyranny that

21 has oppressed them for 36 years.

22 (13) Radio Marti and Television Marti have

23 both been effective vehicles for providing the people

24 of Cuba with news and information and have helped
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1 to bolster the morale of the Cubans living under tyr2 anny.

3 (14) The consistent policy of the United States

4 towards Cuba since the beginning of the Castro re5 gime, carried out by both Democratic and Repub6 lican administrations, has sought to keep faith with

7 the people of Cuba, and has been effective in isolat8 ing the totalitarian Castro regime.

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

10 The purposes of this Act are—

11 (1) to strengthen international sanctions

12 against the Castro government;

13 (2) to encourage the holding of free and fair

14 democratic elections in Cuba, conducted under the

15 supervision of internationally recognized observers;

16 (3) to provide a policy framework for United

17 States support to the Cuban people in response to

18 the formation of a transition government or a demo19 cratically elected government in Cuba; and

20 (4) to protect the rights of United States per21 sons who own claims to confiscated property abroad.

22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

23 As used in this Act—

24 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT25 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
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1 mittees’’ means the Committee on International Re2 lations and the Committee on Appropriations of the

3 House of Representatives and the Committee on

4 Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropria5 tions of the Senate.

6 (2) CONFISCATED.—The term ‘‘confiscated’’ re7 fers to the nationalization, expropriation, or other

8 seizure of ownership or control of property by gov9 ernmental authority—

10 (A) without adequate and effective com11 pensation or in violation of the law of the place

12 where the property was situated when the

13 confiscation occurred; and

14 (B) without the claim to the property hav15 ing been settled pursuant to an international

16 claims settlement agreement.

17 (3) CUBAN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Cuban

18 government’’ includes the government of any politi19 cal subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the

20 Government of Cuba.

21 (4) DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT

22 IN CUBA.—The term ‘‘democratically elected govern23 ment in Cuba’’ means a government described in

24 section 206.
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1 (5) ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF CUBA.—The term

2 ‘‘economic embargo of Cuba’’ refers to the economic

3 embargo imposed against Cuba pursuant to section

4 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

5 U.S.C. 2370(a)), section 5(b) of the Trading With

6 the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the Inter7 national Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the

8 Export Administration Act of 1979.

9 (6) PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘property’’ means—

10 (A) any property, right, or interest, includ11 ing any leasehold interest,

12 (B) debts owed by a foreign government or

13 by any enterprise which has been confiscated by

14 a foreign government; and

15 (C) debts which are a charge on property

16 confiscated by a foreign government.

17 (7) TRAFFICS.—The term ‘‘traffics’’ means sell18 ing, transfering, distributing, dispensing, or other19 wise disposing of property, or purchasing, receiving,

20 possessing, obtaining control of, managing, or using

21 property.

22 (8) TRANSITION GOVERNMENT IN CUBA.—The

23 term ‘‘transition government in Cuba’’ means a gov24 ernment described in section 205.
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1 (9) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term

2 ‘‘United States person’’ means—

3 (A) any United States citizen, including, in

4 the context of claims to confiscated property,

5 any person who becomes a United States citizen

6 after the property was confiscated but before

7 final resolution of the claim to that property;

8 and

9 (B) any corporation, trust, partnership, or

10 other juridical entity 50 percent or more bene11 ficially owned by United States citizens.

12 TITLE I—STRENGTHENING

13 INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS

14 AGAINST THE CASTRO GOV15 ERNMENT

16 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

17 It is the sense of the Congress that—

18 (1) the acts of the Castro government, includ19 ing its massive, systematic, and extraordinary viola20 tions of human rights, are a threat to international

21 peace;

22 (2) the President should advocate, and should

23 instruct the United States Permanent Representa24 tive to the United Nations to propose and seek with25 in the Security Council a mandatory international
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1 embargo against the totalitarian government of

2 Cuba pursuant to chapter VII of the Charter of the

3 United Nations, which is similar to consultations

4 conducted by United States representatives with re5 spect to Haiti; and

6 (3) any resumption of efforts by any independ7 ent state of the former Soviet Union to make oper8 ational the nuclear facility at Cienfuegos, Cuba, will

9 have a detrimental impact on United States assist10 ance to such state.

11 SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF

12 CUBA.

13 (a) POLICY.—(1) The Congress hereby reaffirms sec14 tion 1704(a) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, which

15 states the President should encourage foreign countries to

16 restrict trade and credit relations with Cuba.

17 (2) The Congress further urges the President to take

18 immediate steps to apply the sanctions described in section

19 1704(b)(1) of such Act against countries assisting Cuba.

20 (b) DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS.—The Secretary of State

21 should ensure that United States diplomatic personnel

22 abroad understand and, in their contacts with foreign offi23 cials are—

24 (1) communicating the reasons for the United

25 States economic embargo of Cuba; and
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1 (2) urging foreign governments to cooperate

2 more effectively with the embargo.

3 (c) EXISTING REGULATIONS.—The President shall

4 instruct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney

5 General to enforce fully the Cuban Assets Control Regula6 tions in part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.

7 (d) VIOLATIONS OF RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL TO

8 CUBA.—The penalties provided for in section 16 of the

9 Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 16) shall

10 apply to all violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regula11 tions (part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations)

12 involving transactions incident to travel to and within

13 Cuba, notwithstanding section 16(b)(2) (the first place it

14 appears) and section 16(b) (3) and (4) of such Act.

15 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION AGAINST INDIRECT FINANCING OF

16 CUBA.

17 (a) PROHIBITION.—Effective upon the date of enact18 ment of this Act, it is unlawful for any United States per19 son, including any officer, director, or agent thereof and

20 including any officer or employee of a United States agen21 cy, knowingly to extend any loan, credit, or other financing

22 to a foreign person that traffics in any property con23 fiscated by the Cuban government the claim to which is

24 owned by a United States person.
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1 (b) TERMINATION OF PROHIBITION.—The prohibi2 tion of subsection (a) shall cease to apply on the date of

3 termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.

4 (c) PENALTIES.—Violations of subsection (a) shall be

5 punishable by the same penalties as are applicable to simi6 lar violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations in

7 part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

9 (1) the term ‘‘foreign person’’ means (A) an

10 alien, and (B) any corporation, trust, partnership, or

11 other juridical entity that is not 50 percent or more

12 beneficially owned by United States citizens; and

13 (2) the term ‘‘United States agency’’ has the

14 same meaning given to the term ‘‘agency’’ in section

15 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.

16 SEC. 104. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO CUBAN MEMBER17 SHIP IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTI18 TUTIONS.

19 (a) CONTINUED OPPOSITION TO CUBAN MEMBER20 SHIP IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—(1)

21 Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the

22 Treasury shall instruct the United States executive direc23 tor of each international financial institution to vote

24 against the admission of Cuba as a member of such insti25 tution until Cuba holds free and fair, democratic elections,
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1 conducted under the supervision of internationally recog2 nized observers.

3 (2) During the period that a transition government

4 in Cuba is in power, the President shall take steps to sup5 port the processing of Cuba’s application for membership

6 in any international financial institution, subject to the

7 membership taking effect after a democratically elected

8 government in Cuba is in power.

9 (b) REDUCTION IN UNITED STATES PAYMENTS TO

10 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—If any

11 international financial institution approves a loan or other

12 assistance to Cuba over the opposition of the United

13 States, then the Secretary of the Treasury shall withhold

14 from payment to such institution an amount equal to the

15 amount of the loan or other assistance, with respect to

16 each of the following types of payment:

17 (1) The paid-in portion of the increase in cap18 ital stock of the institution.

19 (2) The callable portion of the increase in cap20 ital stock of the institution.

21 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

22 term ‘‘international financial institution’’ means the Inter23 national Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Re24 construction and Development, the International Develop25 ment Association, the International Finance Corporation,
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1 the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency, and the

2 Inter-American Development Bank.

3 SEC. 105. UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO READMISSION

4 OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA TO THE OR5 GANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES.

6 The President should instruct the United States Per7 manent Representative to the Organization of American

8 States to vote against the readmission of the Government

9 of Cuba to membership in the Organization until the

10 President determines under section 203(c) that a demo11 cratically elected government in Cuba is in power.

12 SEC. 106. ASSISTANCE BY THE INDEPENDENT STATES OF

13 THE FORMER SOVIET UNION OF THE GOV14 ERNMENT OF CUBA.

15 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President

17 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees

18 a report detailing progress towards the withdrawal of per19 sonnel of any independent state of the former Soviet

20 Union (within the meaning of section 3 of the FREEDOM

21 Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801)), including advisers, techni22 cians, and military personnel, from the Cienfuegos nuclear

23 facility in Cuba.

24 (b) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE.—Section

25 498A(a)(11) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
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1 U.S.C. 2295a(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘of military

2 facilities’’ and inserting ‘‘military and intelligence facili3 ties, including the military and intelligence facilities at

4 Lourdes and Cienfuegos,’’.

5 (c) INELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—(1) Section

6 498A(b) of that Act (22 U.S.C. 2295a(b)) is amended—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

8 (4);

9 (B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para10 graph (6); and

11 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow12 ing:

13 ‘‘(5) for the government of any independent

14 state effective 30 days after the President has deter15 mined and certified to the appropriate congressional

16 committees (and Congress has not enacted legisla17 tion disapproving the determination within the 30-

18 day period) that such government is providing as19 sistance for, or engaging in nonmarket based trade

20 (as defined in section 498B(k)(3)) with, the Govern21 ment of Cuba; or’’.

22 (2) Subsection (k) of section 498B of that Act (22

23 U.S.C. 2295b(k)), is amended by adding at the end the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(3) NONMARKET BASED TRADE.—As used in

2 section 498A(b)(5), the term ‘nonmarket based

3 trade’ includes exports, imports, exchanges, or other

4 arrangements that are provided for goods and serv5 ices (including oil and other petroleum products) on

6 terms more favorable than those generally available

7 in applicable markets or for comparable commod8 ities, including—

9 ‘‘(A) exports to the Government of Cuba

10 on terms that involve a grant, concessional

11 price, guarantee, insurance, or subsidy;

12 ‘‘(B) imports from the Government of

13 Cuba at preferential tariff rates; and

14 ‘‘(C) exchange arrangements that include

15 advance delivery of commodities, arrangements

16 in which the Government of Cuba is not held

17 accountable for unfulfilled exchange contracts,

18 and arrangements under which Cuba does not

19 pay appropriate transportation, insurance, or fi20 nance costs.’’.

21 (d) FACILITIES AT LOURDES, CUBA.—(1) The Con22 gress expresses its strong disapproval of the extension by

23 Russia of credits equivalent to $200,000,000 in support

24 of the intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba, in November

25 1994.
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1 (2) Section 498A of the Foreign Assistance Act of

2 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended by adding at the end

3 the following new subsection:

4 ‘‘(d) REDUCTION IN ASSISTANCE FOR SUPPORT OF

5 MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE FACILITIES IN CUBA.—(1)

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President

7 shall withhold from assistance allocated for an independ8 ent state of the former Soviet Union under this chapter

9 an amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if

10 any, provided by such state in support of military and in11 telligence facilities in Cuba, such as the intelligence facility

12 at Lourdes, Cuba.

13 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to

14 apply to—

15 ‘‘(A) assistance provided under the Soviet Nu16 clear Threat Reduction Act of 1991 (title II of Pub17 lic Law 102–228) or the Cooperative Threat Reduc18 tion Act of 1993 (title XII of Public Law 103–160);

19 or

20 ‘‘(B) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian

21 needs under section 498(1), including disaster as22 sistance described in subsection (c)(3) of this sec23 tion.’’.
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1 SEC. 107. TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.

2 (a) CONVERSION TO UHF.—The Director of the

3 United States Information Agency shall implement a con4 version of television broadcasting to Cuba under the Tele5 vision Marti Service to ultra high frequency (UHF) broad6 casting.

7 (b) PERIODIC REPORTS.—Not later than 45 days

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every three

9 months thereafter until the conversion described in sub10 section (a) is fully implemented, the Director shall submit

11 a report to the appropriate congressional committees on

12 the progress made in carrying out subsection (a).

13 SEC. 108. REPORTS ON COMMERCE WITH, AND ASSISTANCE

14 TO, CUBA FROM OTHER FOREIGN COUN15 TRIES.

16 (a) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every year

18 thereafter, the President shall submit a report to the ap19 propriate congressional committees on commerce with,

20 and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign countries dur21 ing the preceding 12-month period.

22 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—Each report required

23 by subsection (a) shall, for the period covered by the re24 port, contain—
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1 (1) a description of all bilateral assistance pro2 vided to Cuba by other foreign countries, including

3 humanitarian assistance;

4 (2) a description of Cuba’s commerce with for5 eign countries, including an identification of Cuba’s

6 trading partners and the extent of such trade;

7 (3) a description of the joint ventures com8 pleted, or under consideration, by foreign nationals

9 and business firms involving facilities in Cuba, in10 cluding an identification of the location of the facili11 ties involved and a description of the terms of agree12 ment of the joint ventures and the names of the par13 ties that are involved;

14 (4) a determination as to whether or not any of

15 the facilities described in paragraph (3) is the sub16 ject of a claim against Cuba by a United States per17 son;

18 (5) a determination of the amount of Cuban

19 debt owed to each foreign country, including the

20 amount of debt exchanged, forgiven, or reduced

21 under the terms of each investment or operation in

22 Cuba involving foreign nationals or businesses; and

23 (6) a description of the steps taken to assure

24 that raw materials and semifinished or finished

25 goods produced by facilities in Cuba involving for-
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1 eign nationals or businesses do not enter the United

2 States market, either directly or through third coun3 tries or parties.

4 SEC. 109. IMPORTATION SANCTION AGAINST CERTAIN

5 CUBAN TRADING PARTNERS.

6 (a) SANCTION.—Notwithstanding any other provision

7 of law, sugars, syrups, and molasses, that are the product

8 of a country that the President determines has imported

9 sugar, syrup, or molasses that is the product of Cuba,

10 shall not be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for

11 consumption, into the customs territory of the United

12 States, unless the condition set forth in subsection (b) is

13 met.

14 (b) CONDITION FOR REMOVAL OF SANCTION.—The

15 sanction set forth in subsection (a) shall cease to apply

16 to a country if the country certifies to the President that

17 the country will not import sugar, syrup, or molasses that

18 is the product of Cuba until free and fair elections, con19 ducted under the supervision of internationally recognized

20 observers, are held in Cuba. Such certification shall cease

21 to be effective if the President makes a subsequent

22 determination under subsection (a) with respect to that

23 country.

24 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The President shall re25 port to the appropriate congressional committees all deter-
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1 minations made under subsection (a) and all certifications

2 made under subsection (b).

3 (d) REALLOCATION OF SUGAR QUOTAS.—During any

4 period in which a sanction under subsection (a) is in effect

5 with respect to a country, the President may reallocate

6 to other countries the quota of sugars, syrups, and molas7 ses allocated to that country, before the prohibition went

8 into effect, under chapter 17 of the Harmonized Tariff

9 Schedule of the United States.

10 TITLE II—SUPPORT FOR A FREE

11 AND INDEPENDENT CUBA

12 SEC. 201. POLICY TOWARD A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT

13 AND A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERN14 MENT IN CUBA.

15 It is the policy of the United States—

16 (1) to support the self-determination of the

17 Cuban people;

18 (2) to facilitate a peaceful transition to rep19 resentative democracy and a free market economy in

20 Cuba;

21 (3) to be impartial toward any individual or en22 tity in the selection by the Cuban people of their fu23 ture government;

24 (4) to enter into negotiations with a democrat25 ically elected government in Cuba regarding the sta-
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1 tus of the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo

2 Bay;

3 (5) to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba,

4 and support the reintegration of Cuba into entities

5 of the Inter-American System, when the President

6 determines that there exists a democratically elected

7 government in Cuba;

8 (6) to remove the economic embargo of Cuba

9 when the President determines that there exists a

10 democratically elected government in Cuba; and

11 (7) to pursue a mutually beneficial trading rela12 tionship with a democratic Cuba.

13 SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR THE

14 CUBAN PEOPLE.

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide

17 assistance under this section for the Cuban people

18 after a transition government, or a democratically

19 elected government, is in power in Cuba, as deter20 mined under section 203 (a) and (c).

21 (2) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—

22 (A) SUPERSEDING OTHER LAWS.—Subject

23 to subparagraph (B), assistance may be pro24 vided under this section notwithstanding any

25 other provision of law.
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1 (B) DETERMINATION REQUIRED REGARD2 ING PROPERTY TAKEN FROM UNITED STATES

3 PERSONS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply

4 to section 620(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance

5 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)(2)).

6 (b) RESPONSE PLAN.—

7 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The President

8 shall develop a plan detailing the manner in which

9 the United States would provide and implement sup10 port for the Cuban people in response to the forma11 tion of—

12 (A) a transition government in Cuba; and

13 (B) a democratically elected government in

14 Cuba.

15 (2) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Support for the

16 Cuban people under the plan described in paragraph

17 (1) shall include the following types of assistance:

18 (A) TRANSITION GOVERNMENT.—Assist19 ance under the plan to a transition government

20 in Cuba shall be limited to such food, medicine,

21 medical supplies and equipment, and other as22 sistance as may be necessary to meet emer23 gency humanitarian needs of the Cuban people.

24 (B) DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERN25 MENT.—Assistance under the plan for a demo-
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1 cratically elected government in Cuba shall con2 sist of assistance to promote free market devel3 opment, private enterprise, and a mutually ben4 eficial trade relationship between the United

5 States and Cuba. Such assistance should in6 clude—

7 (i) financing, guarantees, and other

8 assistance provided by the Export-Import

9 Bank of the United States;

10 (ii) insurance, guarantees, and other

11 assistance provided by the Overseas Pri12 vate Investment Corporation for invest13 ment projects in Cuba;

14 (iii) assistance provided by the Trade

15 and Development Agency;

16 (iv) international narcotics control as17 sistance provided under chapter 8 of part

18 I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961;

19 and

20 (v) Peace Corps activities.

21 (c) CARIBBEAN BASIN INITIATIVE.—(1) The Presi22 dent shall determine, as part of the plan developed under

23 subsection (b), whether or not to designate Cuba as a ben24 eficiary country under section 212 of the Caribbean Basin

25 Economic Recovery Act.
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1 (2) Any designation of Cuba as a beneficiary country

2 under section 212 of such Act may only be made after

3 a democratically elected government in Cuba is in power.

4 Such designation may be made notwithstanding any other

5 provision of law.

6 (3) The table contained in section 212(b) of the Car7 ibbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b))

8 is amended by inserting ‘‘Cuba’’ between ‘‘Costa Rica’’

9 and ‘‘Dominica’’.

10 (d) TRADE AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding any

11 other provision of law, the President, upon transmittal to

12 Congress of a determination under section 203(c) that a

13 democratically elected government in Cuba is in power,

14 should—

15 (1) take the steps necessary to extend non16 discriminatory trade treatment (most-favored-nation

17 status) to the products of Cuba; and

18 (2) take such other steps as will encourage re19 newed investment in Cuba.

20 (e) COMMUNICATION WITH THE CUBAN PEOPLE.—

21 The President should take the necessary steps to commu22 nicate to the Cuban people the plan developed under this

23 section.

24 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President
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1 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees

2 a report describing in detail the plan developed under this

3 section.

4 SEC. 203. IMPLEMENTATION; REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

5 (a) IMPLEMENTATION WITH RESPECT TO TRANSI6 TION GOVERNMENT.—Upon making a determination that

7 a transition government in Cuba is in power, the President

8 shall transmit that determination to the appropriate con9 gressional committees and should, subject to the availabil10 ity of appropriations, commence the provision of assist11 ance to such transition government under the plan devel12 oped under section 202(b).

13 (b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—(1) The President

14 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees

15 a report setting forth the strategy for providing assistance

16 described in section 202(b)(2)(A) to the transition govern17 ment in Cuba under the plan of assistance developed

18 under section 202(b), the types of such assistance, and

19 the extent to which such assistance has been distributed

20 in accordance with the plan.

21 (2) The President shall transmit the report not later

22 than 90 days after making the determination referred to

23 in paragraph (1), except that the President shall transmit

24 the report in preliminary form not later than 15 days after

25 making that determination.
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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION WITH RESPECT TO DEMO2 CRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT.—The President

3 shall, upon determining that a democratically elected gov4 ernment in Cuba is in power, transmit that determination

5 to the appropriate congressional committees and should,

6 subject to the availability of appropriations, commence the

7 provision of assistance to such democratically elected gov8 ernment under the plan developed under section

9 202(b)(2)(B).

10 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later

11 than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Presi12 dent shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com13 mittees a report on the assistance provided under the plan

14 developed under section 202(b), including a description of

15 each type of assistance, the amounts expended for such

16 assistance, and a description of the assistance to be pro17 vided under the plan in the current fiscal year.

18 SEC. 204. TERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF

19 CUBA.

20 (a) TERMINATION.—Upon the effective date of this

21 section—

22 (1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance

23 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;
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1 (2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act

2 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(f)) is amended by striking

3 ‘‘Republic of Cuba’’;

4 (3) the prohibitions on transactions described in

5 part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations,

6 shall cease to apply; and

7 (4) the President shall take such other steps as

8 may be necessary to rescind any other regulations in

9 effect under the economic embargo of Cuba.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

11 upon transmittal to Congress of a determination under

12 section 203(c) that a democratically elected government

13 in Cuba is in power.

14 SEC. 205. REQUIREMENTS FOR A TRANSITION GOVERN15 MENT.

16 For purposes of this Act, a transition government in

17 Cuba is a government in Cuba that—

18 (1) is demonstrably in transition from com19 munist totalitarian dictatorship to representative de20 mocracy;

21 (2) has released all political prisoners and al22 lowed for investigations of Cuban prisons by appro23 priate international human rights organizations;

24 (3) has dissolved the present Department of

25 State Security in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior,
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1 including the Committees for the Defense of the

2 Revolution and the Rapid Response Brigades;

3 (4) has publicly committed itself to, and is

4 making demonstrable progress in—

5 (A) establishing an independent judiciary;

6 (B) respecting internationally recognized

7 human rights and basic freedoms as set forth in

8 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to

9 which Cuba is a signatory nation;

10 (C) effectively guaranteeing the rights of

11 free speech and freedom of the press;

12 (D) permitting the reinstatement of citi13 zenship to Cuban-born nationals returning to

14 Cuba;

15 (E) organizing free and fair elections for a

16 new government—

17 (i) to be held within 1 year after the

18 transition government assumes power;

19 (ii) with the participation of multiple

20 independent political parties that have full

21 access to the media on an equal basis, in22 cluding (in the case of radio, television, or

23 other telecommunications media) in terms

24 of allotments of time for such access and
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1 the times of day such allotments are given;

2 and

3 (iii) to be conducted under the super4 vision of internationally recognized observ5 ers, such as the Organization of American

6 States, the United Nations, and other elec7 tions monitors;

8 (F) assuring the right to private property;

9 (G) taking appropriate steps to return to

10 United States citizens and entities property

11 taken by the Government of Cuba from such

12 citizens and entities on or after January 1,

13 1959, or to provide equitable compensation to

14 such citizens and entities for such property;

15 (H) having a currency that is fully convert16 ible domestically and internationally;

17 (I) granting permits to privately owned

18 telecommunications and media companies to op19 erate in Cuba; and

20 (J) allowing the establishment of an inde21 pendent labor movement and of independent so22 cial, economic, and political associations;

23 (5) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Cas24 tro;
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1 (6) has given adequate assurances that it will

2 allow the speedy and efficient distribution of assist3 ance to the Cuban people; and

4 (7) permits the deployment throughout Cuba of

5 independent and unfettered international human

6 rights monitors.

7 SEC. 206. REQUIREMENTS FOR A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECT8 ED GOVERNMENT.

9 For purposes of this Act, a democratically elected

10 government in Cuba, in addition to continuing to comply

11 with the requirements of section 205, is a government in

12 Cuba which—

13 (1) results from free and fair elections—

14 (A) conducted under the supervision of

15 internationally recognized observers;

16 (B) in which opposition parties were per17 mitted ample time to organize and campaign

18 for such elections, and in which all candidates

19 in the elections were permitted full access to the

20 media;

21 (2) is showing respect for the basic civil lib22 erties and human rights of the citizens of Cuba;

23 (3) has established an independent judiciary;
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1 (4) is substantially moving toward a market-ori2 ented economic system based on the right to own

3 and enjoy property;

4 (5) is committed to making constitutional

5 changes that would ensure regular free and fair elec6 tions that meet the requirements of paragraph (2);

7 and

8 (6) has returned to United States citizens, and

9 entities which are 50 percent or more beneficially

10 owned by United States citizens, property taken by

11 the Government of Cuba from such citizens and en12 tities on or after January 1, 1959, or provided full

13 compensation in accordance with international law

14 standards and practice to such citizens and entities

15 for such property.

16 TITLE III—PROTECTION OF

17 AMERICAN PROPERTY

18 RIGHTS ABROAD

19 SEC. 301. EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF

20 ALIENS WHO HAVE CONFISCATED PROPERTY

21 CLAIMED BY UNITED STATES PERSONS.

22 (a) ADDITIONAL GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION.—Sec23 tion 212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

24 U.S.C. 1182(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(D) ALIENS WHO HAVE CONFISCATED

2 AMERICAN PROPERTY ABROAD AND RELATED

3 PERSONS.—(i) Any alien who—

4 ‘‘(I) has confiscated, or has directed

5 or overseen the confiscation of, property

6 the claim to which is owned by a United

7 States person, or converts or has converted

8 for personal gain confiscated property, the

9 claim to which is owned by a United States

10 person;

11 ‘‘(II) traffics in confiscated property,

12 the claim to which is owned by a United

13 States person;

14 ‘‘(III) is a corporate officer, principal,

15 or shareholder of an entity which the Sec16 retary of State determines or is informed

17 by competent authority has been involved

18 in the confiscation, trafficking in, or subse19 quent unauthorized use or benefit from

20 confiscated property, the claim to which is

21 owned by a United States person, or

22 ‘‘(IV) is a spouse or dependent of a

23 person described in subclause (I),

24 is excludable.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The validity of claims under this sub2 paragraph shall be established in accordance

3 with section 303 of the Cuban Liberty and

4 Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of

5 1995.

6 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph,

7 the terms ‘confiscated’, ‘traffics’, and ‘United

8 States person’ have the same meanings given to

9 such terms under section 4 of the Cuban Lib10 erty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD)

11 Act of 1995.’’.

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

13 subsection (a) shall apply to individuals seeking to enter

14 the United States on or after the date of enactment of

15 this Act.

16 SEC. 302. LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN CONFISCATED

17 PROPERTY CLAIMED BY UNITED STATES PER18 SONS.

19 (a) CIVIL REMEDY.—(1) Except as provided in para20 graphs (2) and (3), any person or government that traffics

21 in property confiscated by a foreign government shall be

22 liable to the United States person who owns the claim to

23 the confiscated property for money damages in an amount

24 which is the greater of—
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1 (A) the amount certified by the Foreign Claims

2 Settlement Commission under title V of the Inter3 national Claims Settlement Act of 1949, plus inter4 est at the commercially recognized normal rate;

5 (B) the amount determined under section

6 303(a)(2); or

7 (C) the fair market value of that property, cal8 culated as being the then current value of the prop9 erty, or the value of the property when confiscated

10 plus interest at the commercially recognized normal

11 rate, whichever is greater.

12 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), any person

13 or government that traffics in confiscated property after

14 having received (A) notice of a claim to ownership of the

15 property by the United States person who owns the claim

16 to the confiscated property, and (B) a copy of this section,

17 shall be liable to such United States person for money

18 damages in an amount which is treble the amount speci19 fied in paragraph (1).

20 (3)(A) Actions may be brought under paragraph (1)

21 with respect to property confiscated before, on, or after

22 the date of enactment of this Act.

23 (B) In the case of property confiscated before the

24 date of enactment of this Act, no United States person

25 may bring an action under this section unless such person
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1 acquired ownership of the claim to the confiscated prop2 erty before such date.

3 (C) In the case of property confiscated on or after

4 the date of enactment of this Act, in order to maintain

5 the action, the United States person who is the plaintiff

6 must demonstrate to the court that the plaintiff has taken

7 reasonable steps to exhaust all available local remedies.

8 (b) JURISDICTION.—Chapter 85 of title 28, United

9 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1331

10 the following new section:

11 ‘‘§ 1331a. Civil actions involving confiscated property

12 ‘‘The district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction,

13 without regard to the amount in controversy, of any action

14 brought under section 302 of the Cuban Liberty and

15 Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1995.’’.

16 (c) WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—Section

17 1605 of title 28, United States Code, is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

19 (5);

20 (2) by striking the period at the end of para21 graph (6) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

22 (3) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(7) in which the action is brought with respect

24 to confiscated property under section 302 of the
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1 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity

2 (LIBERTAD) Act of 1995.’’.

3 SEC. 303. DETERMINATION OF CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED

4 PROPERTY.

5 (a) EVIDENCE OF OWNERSHIP.—For purposes of

6 this Act, conclusive evidence of ownership by the United

7 States person of a claim to confiscated property is estab8 lished—

9 (1) when the Foreign Claims Settlement Com10 mission certifies the claim under title V of the Inter11 national Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as amended

12 by subsection (b); or

13 (2) when the claim has been determined to be

14 valid by a court or administrative agency of the

15 country in which the property was confiscated.

16 (b) AMENDMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS

17 SETTLEMENT ACT OF 1949.—Title V of the International

18 Claims Settlement Act of 1949 is amended by adding at

19 the end the following new section:

20 ‘‘ADDITIONAL CLAIMS

21 ‘‘SEC. 514. Notwithstanding any other provision of

22 this title, a United States national may bring a claim to

23 the Commission for determination and certification under

24 this title of the amount and validity of a claim resulting

25 from actions taken by the Government of Cuba described

26 in section 503(a), whether or not the United States na-
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1 tional qualified as a United States national at the time

2 of the Cuban government action, except that, in the case

3 of property confiscated after the date of enactment of this

4 section, the claimant must be a United States national at

5 the time of the confiscation.’’.

6 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 510 of the Inter7 national Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1643i)

8 is repealed.

Æ

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