American Companies and Cuban Claims

It goes without saying, to me at least, that American companies should have no right to receive compensation for their Cuban property seized in 1959. Making corporate claims a major bargaining chip in dealing with Cuba is a very bad idea for a number of reasons, including the imperialistic origins of those properties that will just remind Cubans of their historical status vis-a-vis the U.S., the potential to derail legitimate negotiations over a sideshow, and the fact that it will give Americans a chance to remember how awful specific corporations have been in their history. Seems to me it is the best interests of the corporations to let it go.

However, if companies like Chiquita, formerly United Fruit, wants to make these claims, it will give bloggers like myself a lot of good material.