StateofCuba.com (www.StateofCuba.com), a private Miami, Florida based company, is launching a website to enable Cuban Americans to submit property
claims against Cuba, centralizing property claims in an online database.
StateofCuba.com (www.StateofCuba.com) will assist Cuban American citizens in getting their land returned or working with the eventual democratic
government of Cuba to provide monetary reimbursement. The mission of the website it to give Cuban Americans all of the necessary tools to submit a property claim. The service is free.
There is no charge to submit a claim. Once the claim is submitted the information will be saved and provided to the US Government and the newly elected government of Cuba, when in
place.
We seek to protect the interest of US citizens whose property was seized by the Castro regime without compensation, said Maria Gomez, CEO of StateofCuba.com. My own famiy suffered when my
father returned to his home in Cuba, only to find Castro'ss soldiers at the front door letting him know that the property was now owned by the government. Although we understand that
reclaiming land may mean that we receive monetary compensation, instead of the actual property, it is the least the Cuban government can do after confiscating the land ilegally.
StateofCuba.com (www.StateofCuba.com) was created because claims for confiscated assets remain one of the most contentious issues between the U.S.
and Cuba, and appropriate restitution should be a statutory condition for normalizing relations with a post-Castro Cuban government.
StateofCuba.com (www.StateofCuba.com) cannot guarantee that any claims will be accepted by the Cuban Government or the United States Government,
but all efforts to provide information to appropriate officials will be made to facilitate possible property claims.
Those submitting property claims through www.StateofCuba.com will also continue to receive information via email on the property claim process, as
it is made available in the coming months.
History of Cuban Land Confiscation
The Castro regime's8217;s property confiscation was the largest seizure of U.S. and private property in history, greater than the value of American assets taken by all other Communist
governments combined. Expropriated U.S. assets included 90% of all electricity generated in Cuba, the entire telephone system, most of the mining industry, and between 1.5 and 2 million
acres of land.
Normalization of relations is inevitable, and U.S. claimants should receive settlements in the form of recovery of their properties or compensation. Estimates of the total present value
of U.S. certified claims, including 46 years of accumulated interest, range from $6 to $20 billion.