Helms Burton Act, 25 years of an infamy, Cuban president affirms

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 12 (ACN) President Miguel Diaz-Canel recalled on Twitter that today marks the 25th anniversary of the signing by a U.S. president of the Helms Burton Act, aimed at tightening the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. against Cuba.

Diaz-Canel considered the signing (on March 12, 1996, by Bill Clinton) of that legislation as an infamy, and described it as an illegal monstrosity, for seeking to return Cubans to the colony and slavery; it is an involution in history, he added.

On the same social media, the official account of the Cuban foreign ministry pointed out that the Helms-Burton Act, known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, constitutes a direct attack on the sovereignty of the island, and a norm contrary to international law that codified the blockade and reinforced its extraterritorial scope.

It adds that the Helms-Burton (the name of its main promoters) also sought to interrupt the commercial and investment relations of third countries with Cuba.

For its part, the Cuban ministry of economy and planning (MEP) reminded on Twitter that the Law of Reaffirmation of Cuban Dignity and Sovereignty, approved by the Cuban parliament in December 1996, declares the Helms-Burton Act unlawful, inapplicable and without any legal value or effect whatsoever.

Any claim based on the Helms-Burton Act, by any natural or juridical person, regardless of citizenship or nationality, is null and void, the MEP warned.

Since its approval 25 years ago, the Helms-Burton Act has served as the main tool to globalize the U.S. blockade against Cuba, and to try to choke the Cuban economy.

In May 2019, Title III and IV of the Act entered into force, whose activation sought to make the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States impossible and to design a program of meddling on the island.