[104th Congress Public Law 114]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
<DOC>
[DOCID: f:publ114.104]
[[Page 110 STAT. 785]]
Public Law 104-114
104th Congress
An Act
To seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba,
to plan for support of a transition government leading to a
democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other
purposes. <<NOTE: Mar. 12, 1996 - [H.R. 927]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Cuban Liberty
and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) <<NOTE: 22 USC 6021 note.>> Short Title.--This Act may be cited
as the ``Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of
1996''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Severability.
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 termination of the suspension of
the Cuban Government from participation in the Organization
of American States.
Sec. 106. Assistance by the independent states of the former Soviet
Union for the Cuban Government.
Sec. 107. Television broadcasting to Cuba.
Sec. 108. Reports on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other
foreign countries.
Sec. 109. Authorization of support for democratic and human rights
groups and international observers.
Sec. 110. Importation safeguard against certain Cuban products.
Sec. 111. Withholding of foreign assistance from countries supporting
Juragua nuclear plant in Cuba.
Sec. 112. Reinstitution of family remittances and travel to Cuba.
Sec. 113. Expulsion of criminals from Cuba.
Sec. 114. News bureaus in Cuba.
Sec. 115. Effect of Act on lawful United States Government activities.
Sec. 116. Condemnation of Cuban attack on American aircraft.
TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA
Sec. 201. Policy toward a transition government and a democratically
elected government in Cuba.
Sec. 202. Assistance for the Cuban people.
Sec. 203. Coordination of assistance program; implementation and reports
to Congress; reprogramming.
Sec. 204. Termination of the economic embargo of Cuba.
Sec. 205. Requirements and factors for determining a transition
government.
Sec. 206. Requirements for determining a democratically elected
government.
[[Page 110 STAT. 786]]
Sec. 207. Settlement of outstanding United States claims to confiscated
property in Cuba.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS
Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Liability for trafficking in confiscated property claimed by
United States nationals.
Sec. 303. Proof of ownership of claims to confiscated property.
Sec. 304. Exclusivity of Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
certification procedure.
Sec. 305. Limitation of actions.
Sec. 306. Effective date.
TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS
Sec. 401. Exclusion from the United States of aliens who have
confiscated property of United States nationals or who
traffic in such property.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6021.>> FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The economy of Cuba has experienced a decline of at
least 60 percent in the last 5 years as a result of--
(A) the end of its subsidization by the former
Soviet Union of between 5 billion and 6 billion dollars
annually;
(B) 36 years of communist tyranny and economic
mismanagement by the Castro government;
(C) the extreme decline in trade between Cuba and
the countries of the former Soviet bloc; and
(D) the stated policy of the Russian Government and
the countries of the former Soviet bloc to conduct
economic relations with Cuba on strictly commercial
terms.
(2) At the same time, the welfare and health of the Cuban
people have substantially deteriorated as a result of this
economic decline and the refusal of the Castro regime to permit
free and fair democratic elections in Cuba.
(3) The Castro regime has made it abundantly clear that it
will not engage in any substantive political reforms that would
lead to democracy, a market economy, or an economic recovery.
(4) The repression of the Cuban people, including a ban on
free and fair democratic elections, and continuing violations of
fundamental human rights, have isolated the Cuban regime as the
only completely nondemocratic government in the Western
Hemisphere.
(5) As long as free elections are not held in Cuba, the
economic condition of the country and the welfare of the Cuban
people will not improve in any significant way.
(6) The totalitarian nature of the Castro regime has
deprived the Cuban people of any peaceful means to improve their
condition and has led thousands of Cuban citizens to risk or
lose their lives in dangerous attempts to escape from Cuba to
freedom.
(7) Radio Marti and Television Marti have both been
effective vehicles for providing the people of Cuba with news
and information and have helped to bolster the morale of the
people of Cuba living under tyranny.
(8) The consistent policy of the United States towards Cuba
since the beginning of the Castro regime, carried out by both
Democratic and Republican administrations, has sought to keep
faith with the people of Cuba, and has been effective in
sanctioning the totalitarian Castro regime.
[[Page 110 STAT. 787]]
(9) The United States has shown a deep commitment, and
considers it a moral obligation, to promote and protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms as expressed in the Charter of
the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
(10) The Congress has historically and consistently
manifested its solidarity and the solidarity of the American
people with the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people.
(11) The Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 calls upon the
President to encourage the governments of countries that conduct
trade with Cuba to restrict their trade and credit relations
with Cuba in a manner consistent with the purposes of that Act.
(12) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 made
by the FREEDOM Support Act require that the President, in
providing economic assistance to Russia and the emerging
Eurasian democracies, take into account the extent to which they
are acting to ``terminate support for the communist regime in
Cuba, including removal of troops, closing military facilities,
and ceasing trade subsidies and economic, nuclear, and other
assistance''.
(13) The Cuban Government engages in the illegal
international narcotics trade and harbors fugitives from justice
in the United States.
(14) The Castro government threatens international peace and
security by engaging in acts of armed subversion and terrorism
such as the training and supplying of groups dedicated to
international violence.
(15) The Castro government has utilized from its inception
and continues to utilize torture in various forms (including by
psychiatry), as well as execution, exile, confiscation,
political imprisonment, and other forms of terror and
repression, as means of retaining power.
(16) <<NOTE: Fidel Castro.>> Fidel Castro has defined
democratic pluralism as ``pluralistic garbage'' and continues to
make clear that he has no intention of tolerating the
democratization of Cuban society.
(17) The Castro government holds innocent Cubans hostage in
Cuba by no fault of the hostages themselves solely because
relatives have escaped the country.
(18) Although a signatory state to the 1928 Inter-American
Convention on Asylum and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (which protects the right to leave one's own
country), Cuba nevertheless surrounds embassies in its capital
by armed forces to thwart the right of its citizens to seek
asylum and systematically denies that right to the Cuban people,
punishing them by imprisonment for seeking to leave the country
and killing them for attempting to do so (as demonstrated in the
case of the confirmed murder of over 40 men, women, and children
who were seeking to leave Cuba on July 13, 1994).
(19) The Castro government continues to utilize blackmail,
such as the immigration crisis with which it threatened the
United States in the summer of 1994, and other unacceptable and
illegal forms of conduct to influence the actions of sovereign
states in the Western Hemisphere in violation of the Charter of
the Organization of American States and other international
agreements and international law.
[[Page 110 STAT. 788]]
(20) The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has
repeatedly reported on the unacceptable human rights situation
in Cuba and has taken the extraordinary step of appointing a
Special Rapporteur.
(21) The Cuban Government has consistently refused access to
the Special Rapporteur and formally expressed its decision not
to ``implement so much as one comma'' of the United Nations
Resolutions appointing the Rapporteur.
(22) The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution
47-139 on December 18, 1992, Resolution 48-142 on December 20,
1993, and Resolution 49-200 on December 23, 1994, referencing
the Special Rapporteur's reports to the United Nations and
condemning violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms
in Cuba.
(23) Article 39 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter
provides that the United Nations Security Council ``shall
determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of
the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations,
or decide what measures shall be taken . . ., to maintain or
restore international peace and security.''.
(24) The United Nations has determined that massive and
systematic violations of human rights may constitute a ``threat
to peace'' under Article 39 and has imposed sanctions due to
such violations of human rights in the cases of Rhodesia, South
Africa, Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia.
(25) In the case of Haiti, a neighbor of Cuba not as close
to the United States as Cuba, the United States led an effort to
obtain and did obtain a United Nations Security Council embargo
and blockade against that country due to the existence of a
military dictatorship in power less than 3 years.
(26) United Nations Security Council Resolution 940 of July
31, 1994, subsequently authorized the use of ``all necessary
means'' to restore the ``democratically elected government of
Haiti'', and the democratically elected government of Haiti was
restored to power on October 15, 1994.
(27) The Cuban people deserve to be assisted in a decisive
manner to end the tyranny that has oppressed them for 36 years,
and the continued failure to do so constitutes ethically
improper conduct by the international community.
(28) For the past 36 years, the Cuban Government has posed
and continues to pose a national security threat to the United
States.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6022.>> PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to assist the Cuban people in regaining their freedom
and prosperity, as well as in joining the community of
democratic countries that are flourishing in the Western
Hemisphere;
(2) to strengthen international sanctions against the Castro
government;
(3) to provide for the continued national security of the
United States in the face of continuing threats from the Castro
government of terrorism, theft of property from United States
nationals by the Castro government, and the political
manipulation by the Castro government of the desire of Cubans to
escape that results in mass migration to the United States;
[[Page 110 STAT. 789]]
(4) to encourage the holding of free and fair democratic
elections in Cuba, conducted under the supervision of
internationally recognized observers;
(5) to provide a policy framework for United States support
to the Cuban people in response to the formation of a transition
government or a democratically elected government in Cuba; and
(6) to protect United States nationals against confiscatory
takings and the wrongful trafficking in property confiscated by
the Castro regime.
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6023.>> DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term
``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the meaning
given that term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States
Code.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign
Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(3) Commercial activity.--The term ``commercial activity''
has the meaning given that term in section 1603(d) of title 28,
United States Code.
(4) Confiscated.--As used in titles I and III, the term
``confiscated'' refers to--
(A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other
seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control
of property, on or after January 1, 1959--
(i) without the property having been returned
or adequate and effective compensation provided;
or
(ii) without the claim to the property having
been settled pursuant to an international claims
settlement agreement or other mutually accepted
settlement procedure; and
(B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the
default by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of
the Cuban Government to pay, on or after January 1,
1959--
(i) a debt of any enterprise which has been
nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by
the Cuban Government;
(ii) a debt which is a charge on property
nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by
the Cuban Government; or
(iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban
Government in satisfaction or settlement of a
confiscated property claim.
(5) Cuban government.--(A) The term ``Cuban Government''
includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba,
and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ``agency or
instrumentality of the Government of Cuba'' means an
[[Page 110 STAT. 790]]
agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in
section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code, with each
reference in such section to ``a foreign state'' deemed to be a
reference to ``Cuba''.
(6) Democratically elected government in cuba.--The term
``democratically elected government in Cuba'' means a government
determined by the President to have met the requirements of
section 206.
(7) Economic embargo of cuba.--The term ``economic embargo
of Cuba'' refers to--
(A) the economic embargo (including all restrictions
on trade or transactions with, and travel to or from,
Cuba, and all restrictions on transactions in property
in which Cuba or nationals of Cuba have an interest)
that was imposed against Cuba pursuant to section 620(a)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2370(a)), section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act
(50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)), the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992
(22 U.S.C. 6001 and following), or any other provision
of law; and
(B) the restrictions imposed by section 902(c) of
the Food Security Act of 1985.
(8) Foreign national.--The term ``foreign national'' means--
(A) an alien; or
(B) any corporation, trust, partnership, or other
juridical entity not organized under the laws of the
United States, or of any State, the District of
Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession
of the United States.
(9) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' means with knowledge
or having reason to know.
(10) Official of the cuban government or the ruling
political party in cuba.--The term ``official of the Cuban
Government or the ruling political party in Cuba'' refers to any
member of the Council of Ministers, Council of State, central
committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, or the Politburo of
Cuba, or their equivalents.
(11) Person.--The term ``person'' means any person or
entity, including any agency or instrumentality of a foreign
state.
(12) Property.--(A) The term ``property'' means any property
(including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and any other form
of intellectual property), whether real, personal, or mixed, and
any present, future, or contingent right, security, or other
interest therein, including any leasehold interest.
(B) For purposes of title III of this Act, the term
``property'' does not include real property used for residential
purposes unless, as of the date of the enactment of this Act--
(i) the claim to the property is held by a United
States national and the claim has been certified under
title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of
1949; or
(ii) the property is occupied by an official of the
Cuban Government or the ruling political party in Cuba.
(13) Traffics.--(A) As used in title III, and except as
provided in subparagraph (B), a person ``traffics'' in
confiscated property if that person knowingly and
intentionally--
[[Page 110 STAT. 791]]
(i) sells, transfers, distributes, dispenses,
brokers, manages, or otherwise disposes of confiscated
property, or purchases, leases, receives, possesses,
obtains control of, manages, uses, or otherwise acquires
or holds an interest in confiscated property,
(ii) engages in a commercial activity using or
otherwise benefiting from confiscated property, or
(iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits
from, trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii))
by another person, or otherwise engages in trafficking
(as described in clause (i) or (ii)) through another
person,
without the authorization of any United States national who
holds a claim to the property.
(B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
(i) the delivery of international telecommunication
signals to Cuba;
(ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly
traded or held, unless the trading is with or by a
person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be
a specially designated national;
(iii) transactions and uses of property incident to
lawful travel to Cuba, to the extent that such
transactions and uses of property are necessary to the
conduct of such travel; or
(iv) transactions and uses of property by a person
who is both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba,
and who is not an official of the Cuban Government or
the ruling political party in Cuba.
(14) Transition government in cuba.--The term ``transition
government in Cuba'' means a government that the President
determines is a transition government consistent with the
requirements and factors set forth in section 205.
(15) United states national.--The term ``United States
national'' means--
(A) any United States citizen; or
(B) any other legal entity which is organized under
the laws of the United States, or of any State, the
District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or
possession of the United States, and which has its
principal place of business in the United States.
SEC. 5. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6024.>> SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act or
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid,
the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or the
application thereof to other persons not similarly situated or to other
circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidation.
TITLE I--STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST THE CASTRO
GOVERNMENT
SEC. 101. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6031.>> STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
[[Page 110 STAT. 792]]
(1) the acts of the Castro government, including its
massive, systematic, and extraordinary violations of human
rights, are a threat to international peace;
(2) the President should advocate, and should instruct the
United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to
propose and seek within the Security Council, a mandatory
international embargo against the totalitarian Cuban Government
pursuant to chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
employing efforts similar to consultations conducted by United
States representatives with respect to Haiti;
(3) any resumption of efforts by any independent state of
the former Soviet Union to make operational any nuclear
facilities in Cuba, and any continuation of intelligence
activities by such a state from Cuba that are targeted at the
United States and its citizens will have a detrimental impact on
United States assistance to such state; and
(4) in view of the threat to the national security posed by
the operation of any nuclear facility, and the Castro
government's continuing blackmail to unleash another wave of
Cuban refugees fleeing from Castro's oppression, most of whom
find their way to United States shores, further depleting
limited humanitarian and other resources of the United States,
the President should do all in his power to make it clear to the
Cuban Government that--
(A) the completion and operation of any nuclear
power facility, or
(B) any further political manipulation of the desire
of Cubans to escape that results in mass migration to
the United States,
will be considered an act of aggression which will be met with
an appropriate response in order to maintain the security of the
national borders of the United States and the health and safety
of the American people.
SEC. 102. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6032.>> ENFORCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF
CUBA.
(a) Policy.--
(1) Restrictions by other countries.--The Congress hereby
reaffirms section 1704(a) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992,
which states that the President should encourage foreign
countries to restrict trade and credit relations with Cuba in a
manner consistent with the purposes of that Act.
(2) Sanctions on other countries.--The Congress further
urges the President to take immediate steps to apply the
sanctions described in section 1704(b)(1) of that Act against
countries assisting Cuba.
(b) Diplomatic Efforts.--The Secretary of State should ensure that
United States diplomatic personnel abroad understand and, in their
contacts with foreign officials, are communicating the reasons for the
United States economic embargo of Cuba, and are urging foreign
governments to cooperate more effectively with the embargo.
(c) <<NOTE: President.>> Existing Regulations.--The President shall
instruct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to
enforce fully the Cuban Assets Control Regulations set forth in part 515
of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) Trading with the Enemy Act.--
[[Page 110 STAT. 793]]
(1) Civil penalties.--Subsection (b) of section 16 of the
Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 16(b)), as added by
Public Law 102-484, is amended to read as follows:
``(b)(1) A civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000 may be imposed by
the Secretary of the Treasury on any person who violates any license,
order, rule, or regulation issued in compliance with the provisions of
this Act.
``(2) Any property, funds, securities, papers, or other articles or
documents, or any vessel, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture,
and equipment, that is the subject of a violation under paragraph (1)
shall, at the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be forfeited
to the United States Government.
``(3) The penalties provided under this subsection may be imposed
only on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing in accordance
with sections 554 through 557 of title 5, United States Code, with the
right to prehearing discovery.
``(4) Judicial review of any penalty imposed under this subsection
may be had to the extent provided in section 702 of title 5, United
States Code.''.
(2) Conforming amendment; criminal forfeiture.--Section 16
of the Trading with the Enemy Act is further amended by striking
subsection (b), as added by Public Law 102-393.
(3) Clerical amendments.--Section 16 of the Trading with the
Enemy Act is further amended--
(A) by inserting ``Sec. 16.'' before ``(a)''; and
(B) in subsection (a) by striking ``participants''
and inserting ``participates''.
(e) Denial of Visas to Certain Cuban Nationals.--It is the sense of
the Congress that the President should instruct the Secretary of State
and the Attorney General to enforce fully existing regulations to deny
visas to Cuban nationals considered by the Secretary of State to be
officers or employees of the Cuban Government or of the Communist Party
of Cuba.
(f) Coverage of Debt-for-Equity Swaps by Economic Embargo of Cuba.--
Section 1704(b)(2) of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C.
6003(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) includes an exchange, reduction, or
forgiveness of Cuban debt owed to a foreign country in
return for a grant of an equity interest in a property,
investment, or operation of the Government of Cuba
(including the government of any political subdivision
of Cuba, and any agency or instrumentality of the
Government of Cuba) or of a Cuban national; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following flush sentence:
``As used in this paragraph, the term `agency or instrumentality
of the Government of Cuba' means an agency or instrumentality of
a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of title 28,
United States Code, with each reference in such section to `a
foreign state' deemed to be a reference to `Cuba'.''.
(g) Telecommunications Services.--Section 1705(e) of the Cuban
Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6004(e)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraphs:
[[Page 110 STAT. 794]]
``(5) Prohibition on investment in domestic
telecommunications services.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to authorize the investment by any United States
person in the domestic telecommunications network within Cuba.
For purposes of this paragraph, an `investment' in the domestic
telecommunications network within Cuba includes the contribution
(including by donation) of funds or anything of value to or for,
and the making of loans to or for, such network.
``(6) <<NOTE: President.>> Reports to congress.--The
President shall submit to the Congress on a semiannual basis a
report detailing payments made to Cuba by any United States
person as a result of the provision of telecommunications
services authorized by this subsection.''.
(h) <<NOTE: Effective date.>> Codification of Economic Embargo.--
The economic embargo of Cuba, as in effect on March 1, 1996, including
all restrictions under part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be in effect upon the enactment of this Act, and
shall remain in effect, subject to section 204 of this Act.
SEC. 103. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6033.>> PROHIBITION AGAINST INDIRECT FINANCING
OF CUBA.
(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
loan, credit, or other financing may be extended knowingly by a United
States national, a permanent resident alien, or a United States agency
to any person for the purpose of financing transactions involving any
confiscated property the claim to which is owned by a United States
national as of the date of the enactment of this Act, except for
financing by the United States national owning such claim for a
transaction permitted under United States law.
(b) Suspension and Termination of Prohibition.--
(1) Suspension.--The President is authorized to suspend the
prohibition contained in subsection (a) upon a determination
made under section 203(c)(1) that a transition government in
Cuba is in power.
(2) Termination.--The prohibition contained in subsection
(a) shall cease to apply on the date on which the economic
embargo of Cuba terminates as provided in section 204.
(c) Penalties.--Violations of subsection (a) shall be punishable by
such civil penalties as are applicable to violations of the Cuban Assets
Control Regulations set forth in part 515 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(d) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``permanent resident alien'' means an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the United
States; and
(2) the term ``United States agency'' has the meaning given
the term ``agency'' in section 551(1) of title 5, United States
Code.
SEC. 104. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6034.>> UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO CUBAN
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Continued Opposition to Cuban Membership in International
Financial Institutions.--
(1) <<NOTE: President.>> In general.--Except as provided in
paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the
United States executive director of each international financial
institution to use the voice and vote of the United States to
oppose the admission of Cuba as a member of such institution
until the
[[Page 110 STAT. 795]]
President submits a determination under section 203(c)(3) that a
democratically elected government in Cuba is in power.
(2) Transition government.--Once the President submits a
determination under section 203(c)(1) that a transition
government in Cuba is in power--
(A) the President is encouraged to take steps to
support the processing of Cuba's application for
membership in any international financial institution,
subject to the membership taking effect after a
democratically elected government in Cuba is in power,
and
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to
instruct the United States executive director of each
international financial institution to support loans or
other assistance to Cuba only to the extent that such
loans or assistance contribute to a stable foundation
for a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(b) Reduction in United States Payments to International Financial
Institutions.--If any international financial institution approves a
loan or other assistance to the Cuban Government over the opposition of
the United States, then the Secretary of the Treasury shall withhold
from payment to such institution an amount equal to the amount of the
loan or other assistance, with respect to either of the following types
of payment:
(1) The paid-in portion of the increase in capital stock of
the institution.
(2) The callable portion of the increase in capital stock of
the institution.
(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``international financial institution'' means the International Monetary
Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the
International Development Association, the International Finance
Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency, and the Inter-
American Development Bank.
SEC. 105. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6035.>> UNITED STATES OPPOSITION TO
TERMINATION OF THE SUSPENSION OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT FROM
PARTICIPATION IN THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES.
The President should instruct the United States Permanent
Representative to the Organization of American States to oppose and vote
against any termination of the suspension of the Cuban Government from
participation in the Organization until the President determines under
section 203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power.
SEC. 106. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6036.>> ASSISTANCE BY THE INDEPENDENT STATES
OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION FOR THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.
(a) <<NOTE: President.>> Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing
progress toward the withdrawal of personnel of any independent state of
the former Soviet Union (within the meaning of section 3 of the FREEDOM
Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801)), including advisers, technicians, and
military personnel, from the Cienfuegos nuclear facility in Cuba.
(b) Criteria for Assistance.--Section 498A(a)(11) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a(a)(11)) is amended by striking
``of military facilities'' and inserting ``military and intel
[[Page 110 STAT. 796]]
ligence facilities, including the military and intelligence facilities
at Lourdes and Cienfuegos''.
(c) Ineligibility for Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Section 498A(b) of that Act (22 U.S.C.
2295a(b)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (4);
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph:
``(5) for the government of any independent state effective
30 days after the President has determined and certified to the
appropriate congressional committees (and Congress has not
enacted legislation disapproving the determination within that
30-day period) that such government is providing assistance for,
or engaging in nonmarket based trade (as defined in section
498B(k)(3)) with, the Cuban Government; or''
(2) Definition.--Subsection (k) of section 498B of that Act
(22 U.S.C. 2295b(k)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(3) Nonmarket based trade.--As used in section 498A(b)(5),
the term `nonmarket based trade' includes exports, imports,
exchanges, or other arrangements that are provided for goods and
services (including oil and other petroleum products) on terms
more favorable than those generally available in applicable
markets or for comparable commodities, including--
``(A) exports to the Cuban Government on terms that
involve a grant, concessional price, guaranty,
insurance, or subsidy;
``(B) imports from the Cuban Government at
preferential tariff rates;
``(C) exchange arrangements that include advance
delivery of commodities, arrangements in which the Cuban
Government is not held accountable for unfulfilled
exchange contracts, and arrangements under which Cuba
does not pay appropriate transportation, insurance, or
finance costs; and
``(D) the exchange, reduction, or forgiveness of
debt of the Cuban Government in return for a grant by
the Cuban Government of an equity interest in a
property, investment, or operation of the Cuban
Government or of a Cuban national.
``(4) Cuban government.--(A) The term `Cuban Government'
includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba,
and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `agency or
instrumentality of the Government of Cuba' means an agency or
instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b)
of title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such
section to `a foreign state' deemed to be a reference to
`Cuba'.''.
(3) Exception.--Section 498A(c) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295A(c)) <<NOTE: 22 USC 2295a.>> is
amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new
paragraph:
[[Page 110 STAT. 797]]
``(4) The assistance is provided under the secondary school
exchange program administered by the United States Information
Agency.''.
(d) Facilities at Lourdes, Cuba.--
(1) Disapproval of credits.--The Congress expresses its
strong disapproval of the extension by Russia of credits
equivalent to $200,000,000 in support of the intelligence
facility at Lourdes, Cuba, in November 1994.
(2) Reduction in assistance.--Section 498A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295a) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(d) <<NOTE: President.>> Reduction in Assistance for Support of
Intelligence Facilities in Cuba.--
``(1) Reduction in assistance.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the President shall withhold from assistance
provided, on or after the date of the enactment of this
subsection, for an independent state of the former Soviet Union
under this Act an amount equal to the sum of assistance and
credits, if any, provided on or after such date by such state in
support of intelligence facilities in Cuba, including the
intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba.
``(2) Waiver.--(A) The President may waive the requirement
of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance if the President
certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the
provision of such assistance is important to the national
security of the United States, and, in the case of such a
certification made with respect to Russia, if the President
certifies that the Russian Government has assured the United
States Government that the Russian Government is not sharing
intelligence data collected at the Lourdes facility with
officials or agents of the Cuban Government.
``(B) <<NOTE: Reports.>> At the time of a certification
made with respect to Russia under subparagraph (A), the
President shall also submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report describing the intelligence activities of
Russia in Cuba, including the purposes for which the Lourdes
facility is used by the Russian Government and the extent to
which the Russian Government provides payment or government
credits to the Cuban Government for the continued use of the
Lourdes facility.
``(C) The report required by subparagraph (B) may be
submitted in classified form.
``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `appropriate
congressional committees' includes the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
``(3) Exceptions to reductions in assistance.--The
requirement of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance shall not
apply with respect to--
``(A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs,
including disaster and refugee relief;
``(B) democratic political reform or rule of law
activities;
``(C) technical assistance for safety upgrades of
civilian nuclear power plants;
``(D) the creation of private sector or
nongovernmental organizations that are independent of
government control;
``(E) the development of a free market economic
system;
[[Page 110 STAT. 798]]
``(F) assistance under the secondary school exchange
program administered by the United States Information
Agency; or
``(G) assistance for the purposes described in the
Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of
Public Law 103-160).''.
SEC. 107. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6037.>> TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.
(a) Conversion to UHF.--The Director of the United States
Information Agency shall implement a conversion of television
broadcasting to Cuba under the Television Marti Service to ultra high
frequency (UHF) broadcasting.
(b) Periodic Reports.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every three months thereafter until the
conversion described in subsection (a) is fully implemented, the
Director of the United States Information Agency shall submit a report
to the appropriate congressional committees on the progress made in
carrying out subsection (a).
(c) Termination of Broadcasting Authorities.--Upon transmittal of a
determination under section 203(c)(3), the Television Broadcasting to
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa and following) and the Radio Broadcasting to
Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 and following) are repealed.
SEC. 108. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6038.>> REPORTS ON COMMERCE WITH,
AND ASSISTANCE TO, CUBA FROM OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
(a) Reports Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and by January 1 of each year thereafter until
the President submits a determination under section 203(c)(1), the
President shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees on commerce with, and assistance to, Cuba from other foreign
countries during the preceding 12-month period.
(b) Contents of Reports.--Each report required by subsection (a)
shall, for the period covered by the report, contain the following, to
the extent such information is available:
(1) A description of all bilateral assistance provided to
Cuba by other foreign countries, including humanitarian
assistance.
(2) A description of Cuba's commerce with foreign countries,
including an identification of Cuba's trading partners and the
extent of such trade.
(3) A description of the joint ventures completed, or under
consideration, by foreign nationals and business firms involving
facilities in Cuba, including an identification of the location
of the facilities involved and a description of the terms of
agreement of the joint ventures and the names of the parties
that are involved.
(4) A determination as to whether or not any of the
facilities described in paragraph (3) is the subject of a claim
against Cuba by a United States national.
(5) A determination of the amount of debt of the Cuban
Government that is owed to each foreign country, including--
(A) the amount of debt exchanged, forgiven, or
reduced under the terms of each investment or operation
in Cuba involving foreign nationals; and
(B) the amount of debt owed the foreign country that
has been exchanged, forgiven, or reduced in return for
[[Page 110 STAT. 799]]
a grant by the Cuban Government of an equity interest in
a property, investment, or operation of the Cuban
Government or of a Cuban national.
(6) A description of the steps taken to assure that raw
materials and semifinished or finished goods produced by
facilities in Cuba involving foreign nationals do not enter the
United States market, either directly or through third countries
or parties.
(7) An identification of countries that purchase, or have
purchased, arms or military supplies from Cuba or that otherwise
have entered into agreements with Cuba that have a military
application, including--
(A) a description of the military supplies,
equipment, or other material sold, bartered, or
exchanged between Cuba and such countries,
(B) a listing of the goods, services, credits, or
other consideration received by Cuba in exchange for
military supplies, equipment, or material, and
(C) the terms or conditions of any such agreement.
SEC. 109. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6039.>> AUTHORIZATION OF SUPPORT FOR
DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AND INTERNATIONAL
OBSERVERS.
(a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law
(including section 102 of this Act), except for section 634A of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1) and comparable
notification requirements contained in any Act making appropriations for
foreign operations, export financing, and related programs, the
President is authorized to furnish assistance and provide other support
for individuals and independent nongovernmental organizations to support
democracy-building efforts for Cuba, including the following:
(1) Published and informational matter, such as books,
videos, and cassettes, on transitions to democracy, human
rights, and market economies, to be made available to
independent democratic groups in Cuba.
(2) Humanitarian assistance to victims of political
repression, and their families.
(3) Support for democratic and human rights groups in Cuba.
(4) Support for visits and permanent deployment of
independent international human rights monitors in Cuba.
(b) OAS Emergency Fund.--
(1) For support of human rights and elections.--The
President shall take the necessary steps to encourage the
Organization of American States to create a special emergency
fund for the explicit purpose of deploying human rights
observers, election support, and election observation in Cuba.
(2) Action of other member states.--The President should
instruct the United States Permanent Representative to the
Organization of American States to encourage other member states
of the Organization to join in calling for the Cuban Government
to allow the immediate deployment of independent human rights
monitors of the Organization throughout Cuba and on-site visits
to Cuba by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
[[Page 110 STAT. 800]]
(3) Voluntary contributions for fund.--Notwithstanding
section 307 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2227) or any other provision of law limiting the United States
proportionate share of assistance to Cuba by any international
organization, the President should provide not less than
$5,000,000 of the voluntary contributions of the United States
to the Organization of American States solely for the purposes
of the special fund referred to in paragraph (1).
(c) <<NOTE: President.>> Denial of Funds to the Cuban Government.--
In implementing this section, the President shall take all necessary
steps to ensure that no funds or other assistance is provided to the
Cuban Government.
SEC. 110. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6040.>> IMPORTATION SAFEGUARD AGAINST CERTAIN
CUBAN PRODUCTS.
(a) Prohibition on Import of and Dealings in Cuban Products.--The
Congress notes that section 515.204 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations, prohibits the entry of, and dealings outside the United
States in, merchandise that--
(1) is of Cuban origin;
(2) is or has been located in or transported from or through
Cuba; or
(3) is made or derived in whole or in part of any article
which is the growth, produce, or manufacture of Cuba.
(b) Effect of NAFTA.--The Congress notes that United States
accession to the North American Free Trade Agreement does not modify or
alter the United States sanctions against Cuba. The statement of
administrative action accompanying that trade agreement specifically
states the following:
(1) ``The NAFTA rules of origin will not in any way diminish
the Cuban sanctions program. . . . Nothing in the NAFTA would
operate to override this prohibition.''.
(2) ``Article 309(3) [of the NAFTA] permits the United
States to ensure that Cuban products or goods made from Cuban
materials are not imported into the United States from Mexico or
Canada and that United States products are not exported to Cuba
through those countries.''.
(c) Restriction of Sugar Imports.--The Congress notes that section
902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-198) requires the
President not to allocate any of the sugar import quota to a country
that is a net importer of sugar unless appropriate officials of that
country verify to the President that the country does not import for
reexport to the United States any sugar produced in Cuba.
(d) Assurances Regarding Sugar Products.--Protection of essential
security interests of the United States requires assurances that sugar
products that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption,
into the customs territory of the United States are not products of
Cuba.
SEC. 111. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6041.>> WITHHOLDING OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FROM
COUNTRIES SUPPORTING JURAGUA NUCLEAR PLANT IN CUBA.
(a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) President Clinton stated in April 1993 that the United
States opposed the construction of the Juragua nuclear power
plant because of the concerns of the United States about Cuba's
ability to ensure the safe operation of the facility and because
[[Page 110 STAT. 801]]
of Cuba's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
or ratify the Treaty of Tlatelolco.
(2) Cuba has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons or ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the
latter of which establishes Latin America and the Caribbean as a
nuclear weapons-free zone.
(3) The State Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
and the Department of Energy have expressed concerns about the
construction and operation of Cuba's nuclear reactors.
(4) In a September 1992 report to the Congress, the General
Accounting Office outlined concerns among nuclear energy experts
about deficiencies in the nuclear plant project in Juragua, near
Cienfuegos, Cuba, including--
(A) a lack in Cuba of a nuclear regulatory
structure;
(B) the absence in Cuba of an adequate
infrastructure to ensure the plant's safe operation and
requisite maintenance;
(C) the inadequacy of training of plant operators;
(D) reports by a former technician from Cuba who, by
examining with x-rays weld sites believed to be part of
the auxiliary plumbing system for the plant, found that
10 to 15 percent of those sites were defective;
(E) since September 5, 1992, when construction on
the plant was halted, the prolonged exposure to the
elements, including corrosive salt water vapor, of the
primary reactor components; and
(F) the possible inadequacy of the upper portion of
the reactors' dome retention capability to withstand
only 7 pounds of pressure per square inch, given that
normal atmospheric pressure is 32 pounds per square inch
and United States reactors are designed to accommodate
pressures of 50 pounds per square inch.
(5) The United States Geological Survey claims that it had
difficulty determining answers to specific questions regarding
earthquake activity in the area near Cienfuegos because the
Cuban Government was not forthcoming with information.
(6) The Geological Survey has indicated that the Caribbean
plate, a geological formation near the south coast of Cuba, may
pose seismic risks to Cuba and the site of the power plant, and
may produce large to moderate earthquakes.
(7) On May 25, 1992, the Caribbean plate produced an
earthquake numbering 7.0 on the Richter scale.
(8) According to a study by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, summer winds could carry radioactive
pollutants from a nuclear accident at the power plant throughout
all of Florida and parts of the States on the coast of the Gulf
of Mexico as far as Texas, and northern winds could carry the
pollutants as far northeast as Virginia and Washington, D.C.
(9) The Cuban Government, under dictator Fidel Castro, in
1962 advocated the Soviets' launching of nuclear missiles to the
United States, which represented a direct and dangerous
provocation of the United States and brought the world to the
brink of a nuclear conflict.
(10) Fidel Castro over the years has consistently issued
threats against the United States Government, most recently
[[Page 110 STAT. 802]]
that he would unleash another perilous mass migration from Cuba
upon the enactment of this Act.
(11) Despite the various concerns about the plant's safety
and operational problems, a feasibility study is being conducted
that would establish a support group to include Russia, Cuba,
and third countries with the objective of completing and
operating the plant.
(b) Withholding of Foreign Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the President shall withhold from assistance allocated, on or
after the date of the enactment of this Act, for any country an
amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any,
provided on or after such date of enactment by that country or
any entity in that country in support of the completion of the
Cuban nuclear facility at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba.
(2) Exceptions.--The requirement of paragraph (1) to
withhold assistance shall not apply with respect to--
(A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs,
including disaster and refugee relief;
(B) democratic political reform or rule of law
activities;
(C) the creation of private sector or
nongovernmental organizations that are independent of
government control;
(D) the development of a free market economic
system;
(E) assistance for the purposes described in the
Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of
Public Law 103-160); or
(F) assistance under the secondary school exchange
program administered by the United States Information
Agency.
(3) Definition.--As used in paragraph (1), the term
``assistance'' means assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961, credits, sales, guarantees of extensions of credit, and
other assistance under the Arms Export Control Act, assistance
under titles I and III of the Agricultural Trade Development and
Assistance Act of 1954, assistance under the FREEDOM Support
Act, and any other program of assistance or credits provided by
the United States to other countries under other provisions of
law.
SEC. 112. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6042.>> REINSTITUTION OF FAMILY REMITTANCES
AND TRAVEL TO CUBA.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President should--
(1)(A) before considering the reinstitution of general
licenses for family remittances to Cuba, insist that, prior to
such reinstitution, the Cuban Government permit the unfettered
operation of small businesses fully empowered with the right to
hire others to whom they may pay wages and to buy materials
necessary in the operation of the businesses, and with such
other authority and freedom as are required to foster the
operation of small businesses throughout Cuba; and
(B) if licenses described in subparagraph (A) are
reinstituted, require a specific license for remittances
described in subparagraph (A) in amounts of more than $500; and
(2) before considering the reinstitution of general licenses
for travel to Cuba by individuals resident in the United States
[[Page 110 STAT. 803]]
who are family members of Cuban nationals who are resident in
Cuba, insist on such actions by the Cuban Government as
abrogation of the sanction for departure from Cuba by refugees,
release of political prisoners, recognition of the right of
association, and other fundamental freedoms.
SEC. 113. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6043.>> EXPULSION OF CRIMINALS FROM
CUBA.
The President shall instruct all United States Government officials
who engage in official contacts with the Cuban Government to raise on a
regular basis the extradition of or rendering to the United States all
persons residing in Cuba who are sought by the United States Department
of Justice for crimes committed in the United States.
SEC. 114. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6044.>> NEWS BUREAUS IN CUBA.
(a) Establishment of News Bureaus.--The President is authorized to
establish and implement an exchange of news bureaus between the United
States and Cuba, if the exchange meets the following conditions:
(1) The exchange is fully reciprocal.
(2) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the
establishment of news bureaus or with the movement in Cuba of
journalists of any United States-based news organizations,
including Radio Marti and Television Marti.
(3) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with
decisions of United States-based news organizations with respect
to individuals assigned to work as journalists in their news
bureaus in Cuba.
(4) The Department of the Treasury is able to ensure that
only accredited journalists regularly employed with a news
gathering organization travel to Cuba under this subsection.
(5) The Cuban Government agrees not to interfere with the
transmission of telecommunications signals of news bureaus or
with the distribution within Cuba of publications of any United
States-based news organization that has a news bureau in Cuba.
(b) Assurance Against Espionage.--In implementing this section, the
President shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and
security of the United States against espionage by Cuban journalists it
believes to be working for the intelligence agencies of the Cuban
Government.
(c) Fully Reciprocal.--As used in subsection (a)(1), the term
``fully reciprocal'' means that all news services, news organizations,
and broadcasting services, including such services or organizations that
receive financing, assistance, or other support from a governmental or
official source, are permitted to establish and operate a news bureau in
the United States and Cuba.
SEC. 115. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6045.>> EFFECT OF ACT ON LAWFUL UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES.
Nothing in this Act prohibits any lawfully authorized investigative,
protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency, or of
an intelligence agency, of the United States.
SEC. 116. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6046.>> CONDEMNATION OF CUBAN ATTACK ON
AMERICAN AIRCRAFT.
(a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
[[Page 110 STAT. 804]]
(1) <<NOTE: Brothers to the Rescue.>> Brothers to the
Rescue is a Miami-based humanitarian organization engaged in
searching for and aiding Cuban refugees in the Straits of
Florida, and was engaged in such a mission on Saturday, February
24, 1996.
(2) The members of Brothers to the Rescue were flying
unarmed and defenseless planes in a mission identical to
hundreds they have flown since 1991 and posed no threat
whatsoever to the Cuban Government, the Cuban military, or the
Cuban people.
(3) Statements by the Cuban Government that Brothers to the
Rescue has engaged in covert operations, bombing campaigns, and
commando operations against the Government of Cuba have no basis
in fact.
(4) The Brothers to the Rescue aircraft notified air traffic
controllers as to their flight plans, which would take them
south of the 24th parallel and close to Cuban airspace.
(5) International law provides a nation with airspace over
the 12-mile territorial sea.
(6) The response of Fidel Castro's dictatorship to
Saturday's afternoon flight was to scramble 2 fighter jets from
a Havana airfield.
(7) At approximately 3:24 p.m., the pilot of one of the
Cuban MiGs received permission and proceeded to shoot down one
Brothers to the Rescue airplane more than 6 miles north of the
Cuban exclusion zone, or 18 miles from the Cuban coast.
(8) Approximately 7 minutes later, the pilot of the Cuban
fighter jet received permission and proceeded to shoot down the
second Brothers to the Rescue airplane almost 18.5 miles north
of the Cuban exclusion zone, or 30.5 miles from the Cuban coast.
(9) The Cuban dictatorship, if it truly felt threatened by
the flight of these unarmed aircraft, could have and should have
pursued other peaceful options as required by international law.
(10) The response chosen by Fidel Castro, the use of lethal
force, was completely inappropriate to the situation presented
to the Cuban Government, making such actions a blatant and
barbaric violation of international law and tantamount to cold-
blooded murder.
(11) There were no survivors of the attack on these
aircraft, and the crew of a third aircraft managed to escape
this criminal attack by Castro's Air Force.
(12) <<NOTE: Pablo Morales. Carlos Costa. Mario de la
Pena. Armondo Alejandre.>> The crew members of the destroyed
planes, Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and
Armando Alejandre, were United States citizens from Miami flying
with Brothers to the Rescue on a voluntary basis.
(13) It is incumbent upon the United States Government to
protect the lives and livelihoods of United States citizens as
well as the rights of free passage and humanitarian missions.
(14) This premeditated act took place after a week-long wave
of repression by the Cuban Government against Concilio Cubano,
an umbrella organization of human rights activists, dissidents,
independent economists, and independent journalists, among
others.
(15) <<NOTE: Concillio Cubano.>> The wave of repression
against Concilio Cubano, whose membership is committed to
peaceful democratic change in
[[Page 110 STAT. 805]]
Cuba, included arrests, strip searches, house arrests, and in
some cases sentences to more than 1 year in jail.
(b) Statements by the Congress.--(1) The Congress strongly condemns
the act of terrorism by the Castro regime in shooting down the Brothers
to the Rescue aircraft on February 24, 1996.
(2) The Congress extends its condolences to the families of Pablo
Morales, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Pena, and Armando Alejandre, the
victims of the attack.
(3) The Congress urges the President to seek, in the International
Court of Justice, indictment for this act of terrorism by Fidel Castro.
TITLE II--ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT CUBA
SEC. 201. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6061.>> POLICY TOWARD A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT
AND A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN CUBA.
The policy of the United States is as follows:
(1) To support the self-determination of the Cuban people.
(2) To recognize that the self-determination of the Cuban
people is a sovereign and national right of the citizens of Cuba
which must be exercised free of interference by the government
of any other country.
(3) To encourage the Cuban people to empower themselves with
a government which reflects the self-determination of the Cuban
people.
(4) To recognize the potential for a difficult transition
from the current regime in Cuba that may result from the
initiatives taken by the Cuban people for self-determination in
response to the intransigence of the Castro regime in not
allowing any substantive political or economic reforms, and to
be prepared to provide the Cuban people with humanitarian,
developmental, and other economic assistance.
(5) In solidarity with the Cuban people, to provide
appropriate forms of assistance--
(A) to a transition government in Cuba;
(B) to facilitate the rapid movement from such a
transition government to a democratically elected
government in Cuba that results from an expression of
the self-determination of the Cuban people; and
(C) to support such a democratically elected
government.
(6) Through such assistance, to facilitate a peaceful
transition to representative democracy and a market economy in
Cuba and to consolidate democracy in Cuba.
(7) To deliver such assistance to the Cuban people only
through a transition government in Cuba, through a
democratically elected government in Cuba, through United States
Government organizations, or through United States,
international, or indigenous nongovernmental organizations.
(8) To encourage other countries and multilateral
organizations to provide similar assistance, and to work
cooperatively with such countries and organizations to
coordinate such assistance.
[[Page 110 STAT. 806]]
(9) To ensure that appropriate assistance is rapidly
provided and distributed to the people of Cuba upon the
institution of a transition government in Cuba.
(10) Not to provide favorable treatment or influence on
behalf of any individual or entity in the selection by the Cuban
people of their future government.
(11) To assist a transition government in Cuba and a
democratically elected government in Cuba to prepare the Cuban
military forces for an appropriate role in a democracy.
(12) To be prepared to enter into negotiations with a
democratically elected government in Cuba either to return the
United States Naval Base at Guantanamo to Cuba or to renegotiate
the present agreement under mutually agreeable terms.
(13) To consider the restoration of diplomatic recognition
and support the reintegration of the Cuban Government into
Inter-American organizations when the President determines that
there exists a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(14) To take steps to remove the economic embargo of Cuba
when the President determines that a transition to a
democratically elected government in Cuba has begun.
(15) To assist a democratically elected government in Cuba
to strengthen and stabilize its national currency.
(16) To pursue trade relations with a free, democratic, and
independent Cuba.
SEC. 202. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6062.>> ASSISTANCE FOR THE CUBAN
PEOPLE.
(a) Authorization.--
(1) In general.--The President shall develop a plan for
providing economic assistance to Cuba at such time as the
President determines that a transition government or a
democratically elected government in Cuba (as determined under
section 203(c)) is in power.
(2) Effect on other laws.--Assistance may be provided under
this section subject to an authorization of appropriations and
subject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Plan for Assistance.--
(1) Development of plan.--The President shall develop a plan
for providing assistance under this section--
(A) to Cuba when a transition government in Cuba is
in power; and
(B) to Cuba when a democratically elected government
in Cuba is in power.
(2) Types of assistance.--Assistance under the plan
developed under paragraph (1) may, subject to an authorization
of appropriations and subject to the availability of
appropriations, include the following:
(A) Transition government.--(i) Except as provided
in clause (ii), assistance to Cuba under a transition
government shall, subject to an authorization of
appropriations and subject to the availability of
appropriations, be limited to--
(I) such food, medicine, medical supplies and
equipment, and assistance to meet emergency energy
needs, as is necessary to meet the basic human
needs of the Cuban people; and
(II) assistance described in subparagraph (C).
[[Page 110 STAT. 807]]
(ii) Assistance in addition to assistance under
clause (i) may be provided, but only after the President
certifies to the appropriate congressional committees,
in accordance with procedures applicable to
reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, that such assistance is
essential to the successful completion of the transition
to democracy.
(iii) Only after a transition government in Cuba is
in power, freedom of individuals to travel to visit
their relatives without any restrictions shall be
permitted.
(B) Democratically elected government.--Assistance
to a democratically elected government in Cuba may,
subject to an authorization of appropriations and
subject to the availability of appropriations, consist
of economic assistance in addition to assistance
available under subparagraph (A), together with
assistance described in subparagraph (C). Such economic
assistance may include--
(i) assistance under chapter 1 of part I
(relating to development assistance), and chapter
4 of part II (relating to the economic support
fund), of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961;
(ii) assistance under the Agricultural Trade
Development and Assistance Act of 1954;
(iii) financing, guarantees, and other forms
of assistance provided by the Export-Import Bank
of the United States;
(iv) financial support provided by the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation for
investment projects in Cuba;
(v) assistance provided by the Trade and
Development Agency;
(vi) Peace Corps programs; and
(vii) other appropriate assistance to carry
out the policy of section 201.
(C) Military adjustment assistance.--Assistance to a
transition government in Cuba and to a democratically
elected government in Cuba shall also include assistance
in preparing the Cuban military forces to adjust to an
appropriate role in a democracy.
(c) Strategy for Distribution.--The plan developed under subsection
(b) shall include a strategy for distributing assistance under the plan.
(d) Distribution.--Assistance under the plan developed under
subsection (b) shall be provided through United States Government
organizations and nongovernmental organizations and private and
voluntary organizations, whether within or outside the United States,
including humanitarian, educational, labor, and private sector
organizations.
(e) International Efforts.--The President shall take the necessary
steps--
(1) to seek to obtain the agreement of other countries and
of international financial institutions and multilateral
organizations to provide to a transition government in Cuba, and
to a democratically elected government in Cuba, assistance
comparable to that provided by the United States under this Act;
and
[[Page 110 STAT. 808]]
(2) to work with such countries, institutions, and
organizations to coordinate all such assistance programs.
(f) Communication With the Cuban People.--The President shall take
the necessary steps to communicate to the Cuban people the plan for
assistance developed under this section.
(g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report describing in detail the
plan developed under this section.
(h) Report on Trade and Investment Relations.--
(1) Report to congress.--The President, following the
transmittal to the Congress of a determination under section
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power, shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate and the appropriate congressional committees a report
that describes--
(A) acts, policies, and practices which constitute
significant barriers to, or distortions of, United
States trade in goods or services or foreign direct
investment with respect to Cuba;
(B) policy objectives of the United States regarding
trade relations with a democratically elected government
in Cuba, and the reasons therefor, including possible--
(i) reciprocal extension of nondiscriminatory
trade treatment (most-favored-nation treatment);
(ii) designation of Cuba as a beneficiary
developing country under title V of the Trade Act
of 1974 (relating to the Generalized System of
Preferences) or as a beneficiary country under the
Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, and the
implications of such designation with respect to
trade with any other country that is such a
beneficiary developing country or beneficiary
country or is a party to the North American Free
Trade Agreement; and
(iii) negotiations regarding free trade,
including the accession of Cuba to the North
American Free Trade Agreement;
(C) specific trade negotiating objectives of the
United States with respect to Cuba, including the
objectives described in section 108(b)(5) of the North
American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19
U.S.C. 3317(b)(5)); and
(D) actions proposed or anticipated to be
undertaken, and any proposed legislation necessary or
appropriate, to achieve any of such policy and
negotiating objectives.
(2) Consultation.--The President shall consult with the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the appropriate
congressional committees and shall seek advice from the
appropriate advisory committees established under section 135 of
the Trade Act of 1974 regarding the policy and negotiating
objectives and the legislative proposals described in paragraph
(1).
[[Page 110 STAT. 809]]
SEC. 203. <<NOTE: President. 22 USC 6063.>> COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM; IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS;
REPROGRAMMING.
(a) Coordinating Official.--The President shall designate a
coordinating official who shall be responsible for--
(1) implementing the strategy for distributing assistance
described in section 202(b);
(2) ensuring the speedy and efficient distribution of such
assistance; and
(3) ensuring coordination among, and appropriate oversight
by, the agencies of the United States that provide assistance
described in section 202(b), including resolving any disputes
among such agencies.
(b) United States-Cuba Council.--Upon making a determination under
subsection (c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power, the President, after consultation with the coordinating official,
is authorized to designate a United States-Cuba council--
(1) to ensure coordination between the United States
Government and the private sector in responding to change in
Cuba, and in promoting market-based development in Cuba; and
(2) to establish periodic meetings between representatives
of the United States and Cuban private sectors for the purpose
of facilitating bilateral trade.
(c) Implementation of Plan; Reports to Congress.--
(1) Implementation with respect to transition government.--
Upon making a determination that a transition government in Cuba
is in power, the President shall transmit that determination to
the appropriate congressional committees and shall, subject to
an authorization of appropriations and subject to the
availability of appropriations, commence the delivery and
distribution of assistance to such transition government under
the plan developed under section 202(b).
(2) Reports to congress.--(A) The President shall transmit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report setting
forth the strategy for providing assistance described in section
202(b)(2) (A) and (C) to the transition government in Cuba under
the plan of assistance developed under section 202(b), the types
of such assistance, and the extent to which such assistance has
been distributed in accordance with the plan.
(B) The President shall transmit the report not later than
90 days after making the determination referred to in paragraph
(1), except that the President shall transmit the report in
preliminary form not later than 15 days after making that
determination.
(3) Implementation with respect to democratically elected
government.--The President shall, upon determining that a
democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, submit
that determination to the appropriate congressional committees
and shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and
subject to the availability of appropriations, commence the
delivery and distribution of assistance to such democratically
elected government under the plan developed under section
202(b).
(4) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than 60 days
after the end of each fiscal year, the President shall transmit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report
[[Page 110 STAT. 810]]
on the assistance provided under the plan developed under
section 202(b), including a description of each type of
assistance, the amounts expended for such assistance, and a
description of the assistance to be provided under the plan in
the current fiscal year.
(d) Reprogramming.--Any changes in the assistance to be provided
under the plan developed under section 202(b) may not be made unless the
President notifies the appropriate congressional committees at least 15
days in advance in accordance with the procedures applicable to
reprogramming notifications under section 634A of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1).
SEC. 204. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6064.>> TERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC EMBARGO OF
CUBA.
(a) Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a determination to the
appropriate congressional committees under section 203(c)(1) that a
transition government in Cuba is in power, the President, after
consultation with the Congress, is authorized to take steps to suspend
the economic embargo of Cuba and to suspend the right of action created
in section 302 with respect to actions thereafter filed against the
Cuban Government, to the extent that such steps contribute to a stable
foundation for a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(b) Suspension of Certain Provisions of Law.--In carrying out
subsection (a), the President may suspend the enforcement of--
(1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(a));
(2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(f)) with respect to the ``Republic of Cuba'';
(3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy
Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005);
(4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985; and
(5) the prohibitions on transactions described in part 515
of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) Additional Presidential Actions.--Upon submitting a
determination to the appropriate congressional committees under section
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in power,
the President shall take steps to terminate the economic embargo of
Cuba, including the restrictions under part 515 of title 31, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--On the date on which the President
submits a determination under section 203(c)(3)--
(1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;
(2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2370(f)) is amended by striking ``Republic of Cuba'';
(3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the Cuban Democracy
Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003, 6004(d), and 6005) are repealed;
and
(4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of
1985 <<NOTE: 7 USC 1446g note.>> is repealed.
(e) Review of Suspension of Economic Embargo.--
(1) Review.--If the President takes action under subsection
(a) to suspend the economic embargo of Cuba, the President shall
immediately so notify the Congress. The President shall report
to the Congress no less frequently than every 6 months
thereafter, until he submits a determination under section
[[Page 110 STAT. 811]]
203(c)(3) that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power, on the progress being made by Cuba toward the
establishment of such a democratically elected government. The
action of the President under subsection (a) shall cease to be
effective upon the enactment of a joint resolution described in
paragraph (2).
(2) Joint resolutions.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term ``joint resolution'' means only a joint resolution of the 2
Houses of Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of
which is as follows: ``That the Congress disapproves the action
of the President under section 204(a) of the Cuban Liberty and
Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to suspend the
economic embargo of Cuba, notice of which was submitted to the
Congress on ____.'', with the blank space being filled with the
appropriate date.
(3) Referral to committees.--Joint resolutions introduced in
the House of Representatives shall be referred to the Committee
on International Relations and joint resolutions introduced in
the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations.
(4) Procedures.--(A) Any joint resolution shall be
considered in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of
section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms
Export Control Act of 1976.
(B) For the purpose of expediting the consideration and
enactment of joint resolutions, a motion to proceed to the
consideration of any joint resolution after it has been reported
by the appropriate committee shall be treated as highly
privileged in the House of Representatives.
(C) <<NOTE: President. Notification.>> Not more than 1
joint resolution may be considered in the House of
Representatives and the Senate in the 6-month period beginning
on the date on which the President notifies the Congress under
paragraph (1) of the action taken under subsection (a), and in
each 6-month period thereafter.
SEC. 205. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6065.>> REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORS FOR
DETERMINING A TRANSITION GOVERNMENT.
(a) Requirements.--For the purposes of this Act, a transition
government in Cuba is a government that--
(1) has legalized all political activity;
(2) has released all political prisoners and allowed for
investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international
human rights organizations;
(3) has dissolved the present Department of State Security
in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, including the Committees
for the Defense of the Revolution and the Rapid Response
Brigades; and
(4) has made public commitments to organizing free and fair
elections for a new government--
(A) to be held in a timely manner within a period
not to exceed 18 months after the transition government
assumes power;
(B) with the participation of multiple independent
political parties that have full access to the media on
an equal basis, including (in the case of radio,
television, or other telecommunications media) in terms
of allotments
[[Page 110 STAT. 812]]
of time for such access and the times of day such
allotments are given; and
(C) to be conducted under the supervision of
internationally recognized observers, such as the
Organization of American States, the United Nations, and
other election monitors;
(5) has ceased any interference with Radio Marti or
Television Marti broadcasts;
(6) makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable
progress in--
(A) establishing an independent judiciary;
(B) respecting internationally recognized human
rights and basic freedoms as set forth in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cuba is a
signatory nation;
(C) allowing the establishment of independent trade
unions as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of the
International Labor Organization, and allowing the
establishment of independent social, economic, and
political associations;
(7) does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro; and
(8) has given adequate assurances that it will allow the
speedy and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban
people.
(b) <<NOTE: President.>> Additional Factors.--In addition to the
requirements in subsection (a), in determining whether a transition
government in Cuba is in power, the President shall take into account
the extent to which that government--
(1) is demonstrably in transition from a communist
totalitarian dictatorship to representative democracy;
(2) has made public commitments to, and is making
demonstrable progress in--
(A) effectively guaranteeing the rights of free
speech and freedom of the press, including granting
permits to privately owned media and telecommunications
companies to operate in Cuba;
(B) permitting the reinstatement of citizenship to
Cuban-born persons returning to Cuba;
(C) assuring the right to private property; and
(D) taking appropriate steps to return to United
States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or
more beneficially owned by United States citizens)
property taken by the Cuban Government from such
citizens and entities on or after January 1, 1959, or to
provide equitable compensation to such citizens and
entities for such property;
(3) has extradited or otherwise rendered to the United
States all persons sought by the United States Department of
Justice for crimes committed in the United States; and
(4) has permitted the deployment throughout Cuba of
independent and unfettered international human rights monitors.
SEC. 206. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6066.>> REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A
DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT.
For purposes of this Act, a democratically elected government in
Cuba, in addition to meeting the requirements of section 205(a), is a
government which--
(1) results from free and fair elections--
[[Page 110 STAT. 813]]
(A) conducted under the supervision of
internationally recognized observers; and
(B) in which--
(i) opposition parties were permitted ample
time to organize and campaign for such elections;
and
(ii) all candidates were permitted full access
to the media;
(2) is showing respect for the basic civil liberties and
human rights of the citizens of Cuba;
(3) is substantially moving toward a market-oriented
economic system based on the right to own and enjoy property;
(4) is committed to making constitutional changes that would
ensure regular free and fair elections and the full enjoyment of
basic civil liberties and human rights by the citizens of Cuba;
(5) has made demonstrable progress in establishing an
independent judiciary; and
(6) has made demonstrable progress in returning to United
States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more
beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by
the Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or after
January 1, 1959, or providing full compensation for such
property in accordance with international law standards and
practice.
SEC. 207. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6067.>> SETTLEMENT OF OUTSTANDING UNITED
STATES CLAIMS TO CONFISCATED PROPERTY IN CUBA.
(a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall provide a report
to the appropriate congressional committees containing an assessment of
the property dispute question in Cuba, including--
(1) an estimate of the number and amount of claims to
property confiscated by the Cuban Government that are held by
United States nationals in addition to those claims certified
under section 507 of the International Claims Settlement Act of
1949;
(2) an assessment of the significance of promptly resolving
confiscated property claims to the revitalization of the Cuban
economy;
(3) a review and evaluation of technical and other
assistance that the United States could provide to help either a
transition government in Cuba or a democratically elected
government in Cuba establish mechanisms to resolve property
questions;
(4) an assessment of the role and types of support the
United States could provide to help resolve claims to property
confiscated by the Cuban Government that are held by United
States nationals who did not receive or qualify for
certification under section 507 of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949; and
(5) an assessment of any areas requiring legislative review
or action regarding the resolution of property claims in Cuba
prior to a change of government in Cuba.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
satisfactory resolution of property claims by a Cuban Government
recognized by the United States remains an essential condition
[[Page 110 STAT. 814]]
for the full resumption of economic and diplomatic relations between the
United States and Cuba.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS
SEC. 301. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6081.>> FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Individuals enjoy a fundamental right to own and enjoy
property which is enshrined in the United States Constitution.
(2) The wrongful confiscation or taking of property
belonging to United States nationals by the Cuban Government,
and the subsequent exploitation of this property at the expense
of the rightful owner, undermines the comity of nations, the
free flow of commerce, and economic development.
(3) <<NOTE: Fidel Castro.>> Since Fidel Castro seized power
in Cuba in 1959--
(A) he has trampled on the fundamental rights of the
Cuban people; and
(B) through his personal despotism, he has
confiscated the property of--
(i) millions of his own citizens;
(ii) thousands of United States nationals; and
(iii) thousands more Cubans who claimed asylum
in the United States as refugees because of
persecution and later became naturalized citizens
of the United States.
(4) It is in the interest of the Cuban people that the Cuban
Government respect equally the property rights of Cuban
nationals and nationals of other countries.
(5) The Cuban Government is offering foreign investors the
opportunity to purchase an equity interest in, manage, or enter
into joint ventures using property and assets some of which were
confiscated from United States nationals.
(6) This ``trafficking'' in confiscated property provides
badly needed financial benefit, including hard currency, oil,
and productive investment and expertise, to the current Cuban
Government and thus undermines the foreign policy of the United
States--
(A) to bring democratic institutions to Cuba through
the pressure of a general economic embargo at a time
when the Castro regime has proven to be vulnerable to
international economic pressure; and
(B) to protect the claims of United States nationals
who had property wrongfully confiscated by the Cuban
Government.
(7) The United States Department of State has notified other
governments that the transfer to third parties of properties
confiscated by the Cuban Government ``would complicate any
attempt to return them to their original owners''.
(8) The international judicial system, as currently
structured, lacks fully effective remedies for the wrongful
confiscation of property and for unjust enrichment from the use
of wrongfully confiscated property by governments and private
entities at the expense of the rightful owners of the property.
[[Page 110 STAT. 815]]
(9) International law recognizes that a nation has the
ability to provide for rules of law with respect to conduct
outside its territory that has or is intended to have
substantial effect within its territory.
(10) The United States Government has an obligation to its
citizens to provide protection against wrongful confiscations by
foreign nations and their citizens, including the provision of
private remedies.
(11) To deter trafficking in wrongfully confiscated
property, United States nationals who were the victims of these
confiscations should be endowed with a judicial remedy in the
courts of the United States that would deny traffickers any
profits from economically exploiting Castro's wrongful seizures.
SEC. 302. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6082.>> LIABILITY FOR TRAFFICKING IN
CONFISCATED PROPERTY CLAIMED BY UNITED STATES NATIONALS.
(a) Civil Remedy.--
(1) Liability for trafficking.--(A) Except as otherwise
provided in this section, any person that, after the end of the
3-month period beginning on the effective date of this title,
traffics in property which was confiscated by the Cuban
Government on or after January 1, 1959, shall be liable to any
United States national who owns the claim to such property for
money damages in an amount equal to the sum of--
(i) the amount which is the greater of--
(I) the amount, if any, certified to the
claimant by the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission under the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949, plus interest;
(II) the amount determined under section
303(a)(2), plus interest; or
(III) the fair market value of that property,
calculated as being either the current value of
the property, or the value of the property when
confiscated plus interest, whichever is greater;
and
(ii) court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
(B) Interest under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be at the rate
set forth in section 1961 of title 28, United States Code,
computed by the court from the date of confiscation of the
property involved to the date on which the action is brought
under this subsection.
(2) Presumption in favor of the certified claims.--There
shall be a presumption that the amount for which a person is
liable under clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A) is the amount that
is certified as described in subclause (I) of that clause. The
presumption shall be rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence
that the amount described in subclause (II) or (III) of that
clause is the appropriate amount of liability under that clause.
(3) Increased liability.--(A) Any person that traffics in
confiscated property for which liability is incurred under
paragraph (1) shall, if a United States national owns a claim
with respect to that property which was certified by the Foreign
Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the International
Claims Settlement Act of 1949, be liable for damages computed in
accordance with subparagraph (C).
[[Page 110 STAT. 816]]
(B) If the claimant in an action under this subsection
(other than a United States national to whom subparagraph (A)
applies) provides, after the end of the 3-month period described
in paragraph (1) notice to--
(i) a person against whom the action is to be
initiated, or
(ii) a person who is to be joined as a defendant in
the action,
at least 30 days before initiating the action or joining such
person as a defendant, as the case may be, and that person,
after the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the
notice is provided, traffics in the confiscated property that is
the subject of the action, then that person shall be liable to
that claimant for damages computed in accordance with
subparagraph (C).
(C) Damages for which a person is liable under subparagraph
(A) or subparagraph (B) are money damages in an amount equal to
the sum of--
(i) the amount determined under paragraph
(1)(A)(ii), and
(ii) 3 times the amount determined applicable under
paragraph (1)(A)(i).
(D) Notice to a person under subparagraph (B)--
(i) shall be in writing;
(ii) shall be posted by certified mail or personally
delivered to the person; and
(iii) shall contain--
(I) a statement of intention to commence the
action under this section or to join the person as
a defendant (as the case may be), together with
the reasons therefor;
(II) a demand that the unlawful trafficking in
the claimant's property cease immediately; and
(III) a copy of the summary statement
published under paragraph (8).
(4) Applicability.--(A) Except as otherwise provided in this
paragraph, actions may be brought under paragraph (1) with
respect to property confiscated before, on, or after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(B) In the case of property confiscated before the date of
the enactment of this Act, a United States national may not
bring an action under this section on a claim to the confiscated
property unless such national acquires ownership of the claim
before such date of enactment.
(C) In the case of property confiscated on or after the date
of the enactment of this Act, a United States national who,
after the property is confiscated, acquires ownership of a claim
to the property by assignment for value, may not bring an action
on the claim under this section.
(5) Treatment of certain actions.--(A) In the case of a
United States national who was eligible to file a claim with the
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 but did not so file
the claim, that United States national may not bring an action
on that claim under this section.
(B) In the case of any action brought under this section by
a United States national whose underlying claim in the
[[Page 110 STAT. 817]]
action was timely filed with the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission under title V of the International Claims Settlement
Act of 1949 but was denied by the Commission, the court shall
accept the findings of the Commission on the claim as conclusive
in the action under this section.
(C) A United States national, other than a United States
national bringing an action under this section on a claim
certified under title V of the International Claims Settlement
Act of 1949, may not bring an action on a claim under this
section before the end of the 2-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(D) An interest in property for which a United States
national has a claim certified under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 may not be the
subject of a claim in an action under this section by any other
person. Any person bringing an action under this section whose
claim has not been so certified shall have the burden of
establishing for the court that the interest in property that is
the subject of the claim is not the subject of a claim so
certified.
(6) Inapplicability of act of state doctrine.--No court of
the United States shall decline, based upon the act of state
doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action
brought under paragraph (1) .
(7) Licenses not required.--(A) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an action under this section may be brought
and may be settled, and a judgment rendered in such action may
be enforced, without obtaining any license or other permission
from any agency of the United States, except that this paragraph
shall not apply to the execution of a judgment against, or the
settlement of actions involving, property blocked under the
authorities of section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act
that were being exercised on July 1, 1977, as a result of a
national emergency declared by the President before such date,
and are being exercised on the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for
purposes of this title only, any claim against the Cuban
Government shall not be deemed to be an interest in property the
transfer of which to a United States national required before
the enactment of this Act, or requires after the enactment of
this Act, a license issued by, or the permission of, any agency
of the United States.
(8) <<NOTE: Federal Register, publication.>> Publication by
attorney general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall prepare and
publish in the Federal Register a concise summary of the
provisions of this title, including a statement of the liability
under this title of a person trafficking in confiscated
property, and the remedies available to United States nationals
under this title.
(b) Amount in Controversy.--An action may be brought under this
section by a United States national only where the amount in controversy
exceeds the sum or value of $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and
attorneys' fees. In calculating $50,000 for purposes of the preceding
sentence, the applicable amount under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of
subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may not be tripled as provided in subsection
(a)(3).
(c) Procedural Requirements.--
[[Page 110 STAT. 818]]
(1) In general.--Except as provided in this title, the
provisions of title 28, United States Code, and the rules of the
courts of the United States apply to actions under this section
to the same extent as such provisions and rules apply to any
other action brought under section 1331 of title 28, United
States Code.
(2) Service of process.--In an action under this section,
service of process on an agency or instrumentality of a foreign
state in the conduct of a commercial activity, or against
individuals acting under color of law, shall be made in
accordance with section 1608 of title 28, United States Code.
(d) Enforceability of Judgments Against Cuban Government.--In an
action brought under this section, any judgment against an agency or
instrumentality of the Cuban Government shall not be enforceable against
an agency or instrumentality of either a transition government in Cuba
or a democratically elected government in Cuba.
(e) Certain Property Immune From Execution.--Section 1611 of title
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1610 of this
chapter, the property of a foreign state shall be immune from attachment
and from execution in an action brought under section 302 of the Cuban
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to the extent
that the property is a facility or installation used by an accredited
diplomatic mission for official purposes.''.
(f) Election of Remedies.--
(1) Election.--Subject to paragraph (2)--
(A) any United States national that brings an action
under this section may not bring any other civil action
or proceeding under the common law, Federal law, or the
law of any of the several States, the District of
Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession
of the United States, that seeks monetary or nonmonetary
compensation by reason of the same subject matter; and
(B) any person who brings, under the common law or
any provision of law other than this section, a civil
action or proceeding for monetary or nonmonetary
compensation arising out of a claim for which an action
would otherwise be cognizable under this section may not
bring an action under this section on that claim.
(2) Treatment of certified claimants.--(A) In the case of
any United States national that brings an action under this
section based on a claim certified under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949--
(i) if the recovery in the action is equal to or
greater than the amount of the certified claim, the
United States national may not receive payment on the
claim under any agreement entered into between the
United States and Cuba settling claims covered by such
title, and such national shall be deemed to have
discharged the United States from any further
responsibility to represent the United States national
with respect to that claim;
(ii) if the recovery in the action is less than the
amount of the certified claim, the United States
national may receive payment under a claims agreement
described in clause (i) but only to the extent of the
difference between
[[Page 110 STAT. 819]]
the amount of the recovery and the amount of the
certified claim; and
(iii) if there is no recovery in the action, the
United States national may receive payment on the
certified claim under a claims agreement described in
clause (i) to the same extent as any certified claimant
who does not bring an action under this section.
(B) In the event some or all actions brought under this
section are consolidated by judicial or other action in such
manner as to create a pool of assets available to satisfy the
claims in such actions, including a pool of assets in a
proceeding in bankruptcy, every claimant whose claim in an
action so consolidated was certified by the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission under title V of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949 shall be entitled to payment in full of
its claim from the assets in such pool before any payment is
made from the assets in such pool with respect to any claim not
so certified.
(g) Deposit of Excess Payments by Cuba Under Claims Agreement.--Any
amounts paid by Cuba under any agreement entered into between the United
States and Cuba settling certified claims under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 that are in excess of the
payments made on such certified claims after the application of
subsection (f) shall be deposited into the United States Treasury.
(h) Termination of Rights.--
(1) In general.--All rights created under this section to
bring an action for money damages with respect to property
confiscated by the Cuban Government--
(A) may be suspended under section 204(a); and
(B) shall cease upon transmittal to the Congress of
a determination of the President under section 203(c)(3)
that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in
power.
(2) Pending suits.--The suspension or termination of rights
under paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the
date of such suspension or termination (as the case may be), and
in all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and
judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect
as if the suspension or termination had not occurred.
(i) Imposition of Filing Fees.--The Judicial Conference of the
United States shall establish a uniform fee that shall be imposed upon
the plaintiff or plaintiffs in each action brought under this section.
The fee should be established at a level sufficient to recover the costs
to the courts of actions brought under this section. The fee under this
subsection is in addition to any other fees imposed under title 28,
United States Code.
SEC. 303. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6083.>> PROOF OF OWNERSHIP OF CLAIMS TO
CONFISCATED PROPERTY.
(a) Evidence of Ownership.--
(1) Conclusiveness of certified claims.--In any action
brought under this title, the court shall accept as conclusive
proof of ownership of an interest in property a certification of
a claim to ownership of that interest that has been made by the
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under title V
[[Page 110 STAT. 820]]
of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C.
1643 and following).
(2) Claims not certified.--If in an action under this title
a claim has not been so certified by the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission, the court may appoint a special master,
including the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, to make
determinations regarding the amount and ownership of the claim.
Such determinations are only for evidentiary purposes in civil
actions brought under this title and do not constitute
certifications under title V of the International Claims
Settlement Act of 1949.
(3) Effect of determinations of foreign or international
entities.--In determining the amount or ownership of a claim in
an action under this title, the court shall not accept as
conclusive evidence any findings, orders, judgments, or decrees
from administrative agencies or courts of foreign countries or
international organizations that declare the value of or
invalidate the claim, unless the declaration of value or
invalidation was found pursuant to binding international
arbitration to which the United States or the claimant submitted
the claim.
(b) Amendment of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949.--
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C.
1643 and following) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``determination of ownership of claims referred by district courts of
the united states
``Sec. 514. <<NOTE: 22 USC 1643l.>> Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act and only for purposes of section 302 of the Cuban
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, a United State
district court, for fact-finding purposes, may refer to the Commission,
and the Commission may determine, questions of the amount and ownership
of a claim by a United States national (as defined in section 4 of the
Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996),
resulting from the confiscation of property by the Government of Cuba
described in section 503(a), whether or not the United States national
qualified as a national of the United States (as defined in section
502(1)) at the time of the action by the Government of Cuba.''.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or in section 514 of
the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as added by subsection
(b), shall be construed--
(1) to require or otherwise authorize the claims of Cuban
nationals who became United States citizens after their property
was confiscated to be included in the claims certified to the
Secretary of State by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
for purposes of future negotiation and espousal of claims with a
friendly government in Cuba when diplomatic relations are
restored; or
(2) as superseding, amending, or otherwise altering
certifications that have been made under title V of the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 before the date of
the enactment of this Act.
[[Page 110 STAT. 821]]
SEC. 304. EXCLUSIVITY OF FOREIGN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COMMISSION
CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.
Title V of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22
U.S.C. 1643 and following), as amended by section 303, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``exclusivity of foreign claims settlement commission certification
procedure
``Sec. 515. <<NOTE: 22 USC 1643m.>> (a) Subject to subsection (b),
neither any national of the United States who was eligible to file a
claim under section 503 but did not timely file such claim under that
section, nor any person who was ineligible to file a claim under section
503, nor any national of Cuba, including any agency, instrumentality,
subdivision, or enterprise of the Government of Cuba or any local
government of Cuba, nor any successor thereto, whether or not recognized
by the United States, shall have a claim to, participate in, or
otherwise have an interest in, the compensation proceeds or nonmonetary
compensation paid or allocated to a national of the United States by
virtue of a claim certified by the Commission under section 507, nor
shall any district court of the United States have jurisdiction to
adjudicate any such claim.
``(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to detract from
or otherwise affect any rights in the shares of capital stock of
nationals of the United States owning claims certified by the Commission
under section 507.''.
SEC. 305. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6084.>> LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.
An action under section 302 may not be brought more than 2 years
after the trafficking giving rise to the action has ceased to occur.
SEC. 306. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6085.>> EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), this title and
the amendments made by this title shall take effect on August 1, 1996.
(b) Suspension Authority.--
(1) Suspension authority.--The President may suspend the
effective date under subsection (a) for a period of not more
than 6 months if the President determines and reports in writing
to the appropriate congressional committees at least 15 days
before such effective date that the suspension is necessary to
the national interests of the United States and will expedite a
transition to democracy in Cuba.
(2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the
effective date under subsection (a) for additional periods of
not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the
day after the last day of the period during which a suspension
is in effect under this subsection, if the President determines
and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees at least 15 days before the date on which the
additional suspension is to begin that the suspension is
necessary to the national interests of the United States and
will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(c) Other Authorities.--
(1) Suspension.--After this title and the amendments of this
title have taken effect--
[[Page 110 STAT. 822]]
(A) no person shall acquire a property interest in
any potential or pending action under this title; and
(B) the President may suspend the right to bring an
action under this title with respect to confiscated
property for a period of not more than 6 months if the
President determines and reports in writing to the
appropriate congressional committees at least 15 days
before the suspension takes effect that such suspension
is necessary to the national interests of the United
States and will expedite a transition to democracy in
Cuba.
(2) Additional suspensions.--The President may suspend the
right to bring an action under this title for additional periods
of not more than 6 months each, each of which shall begin on the
day after the last day of the period during which a suspension
is in effect under this subsection, if the President determines
and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees at least 15 days before the date on which the
additional suspension is to begin that the suspension is
necessary to the national interests of the United States and
will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
(3) Pending suits.--The suspensions of actions under
paragraph (1) shall not affect suits commenced before the date
of such suspension, and in all such suits, proceedings shall be
had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner
and with the same effect as if the suspension had not occurred.
(d) Rescission of Suspension.--The President may rescind any
suspension made under subsection (b) or (c) upon reporting to the
appropriate congressional committees that doing so will expedite a
transition to democracy in Cuba.
TITLE IV--EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS
SEC. 401. <<NOTE: 22 USC 6091.>> EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF
ALIENS WHO HAVE CONFISCATED PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES
NATIONALS OR WHO TRAFFIC IN SUCH PROPERTY.
(a) Grounds for Exclusion.--The Secretary of State shall deny a visa
to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, any
alien who the Secretary of State determines is a person who, after the
date of the enactment of this Act--
(1) has confiscated, or has directed or overseen the
confiscation of, property a claim to which is owned by a United
States national, or converts or has converted for personal gain
confiscated property, a claim to which is owned by a United
States national;
(2) traffics in confiscated property, a claim to which is
owned by a United States national;
(3) is a corporate officer, principal, or shareholder with a
controlling interest of an entity which has been involved in the
confiscation of property or trafficking in confiscated property,
a claim to which is owned by a United States national; or
(4) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a person
excludable under paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
[[Page 110 STAT. 823]]
(b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) Confiscated; confiscation.--The terms ``confiscated''
and ``confiscation'' refer to--
(A) the nationalization, expropriation, or other
seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control
of property--
(i) without the property having been returned
or adequate and effective compensation provided;
or
(ii) without the claim to the property having
been settled pursuant to an international claims
settlement agreement or other mutually accepted
settlement procedure; and
(B) the repudiation by the Cuban Government of, the
default by the Cuban Government on, or the failure of
the Cuban Government to pay--
(i) a debt of any enterprise which has been
nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by
the Cuban Government;
(ii) a debt which is a charge on property
nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by
the Cuban Government; or
(iii) a debt which was incurred by the Cuban
Government in satisfaction or settlement of a
confiscated property claim.
(2) Traffics.--(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a
person ``traffics'' in confiscated property if that person
knowingly and intentionally--
(i)(I) transfers, distributes, dispenses, brokers,
or otherwise disposes of confiscated property,
(II) purchases, receives, obtains control of, or
otherwise acquires confiscated property, or
(III) improves (other than for routine maintenance),
invests in (by contribution of funds or anything of
value, other than for routine maintenance), or begins
after the date of the enactment of this Act to manage,
lease, possess, use, or hold an interest in confiscated
property,
(ii) enters into a commercial arrangement using or
otherwise benefiting from confiscated property, or
(iii) causes, directs, participates in, or profits
from, trafficking (as described in clause (i) or (ii))
by another person, or otherwise engages in trafficking
(as described in clause (i) or (ii)) through another
person,
without the authorization of any United States national who
holds a claim to the property.
(B) The term ``traffics'' does not include--
(i) the delivery of international telecommunication
signals to Cuba;
(ii) the trading or holding of securities publicly
traded or held, unless the trading is with or by a
person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be
a specially designated national;
(iii) transactions and uses of property incident to
lawful travel to Cuba, to the extent that such
transactions and uses of property are necessary to the
conduct of such travel; or
[[Page 110 STAT. 824]]
(iv) transactions and uses of property by a person
who is both a citizen of Cuba and a resident of Cuba,
and who is not an official of the Cuban Government or
the ruling political party in Cuba.
(c) Exemption.--This section shall not apply where the Secretary of
State finds, on a case by case basis, that the entry into the United
States of the person who would otherwise be excluded under this section
is necessary for medical reasons or for purposes of litigation of an
action under title III.
(d) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--This section applies to aliens seeking to
enter the United States on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(2) Trafficking.--This section applies only with respect to
acts within the meaning of ``traffics'' that occur on or after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
Approved March 12, 1996.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 927:
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HOUSE REPORTS: Nos. 104-202, Pt. 1 (Comm. on International Relations)
and 104-468 (Comm. of Conference).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 141 (1995):
Sept. 20, 21, considered and passed
House.
Oct. 11-13, 17-19, considered and
passed Senate, amended.
Vol. 142 (1996):
Mar. 5, Senate agreed to conference
report.
Mar. 6, House agreed to conference
report.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 32 (1996):
Mar. 12, Presidential remarks and statement.
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