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Obama waives Helms-Burton sanctions against Cuba
President Obama on Wednesday waived a portion of the 1996 Helms-Burton embargo law that would allow lawsuits against Cuban businesses, following in the footsteps of Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush.
The law allows U.S. courts to take up lawsuits against businesses that operate on property the communist government appropriated after coming to power in 1959. Like his predecessors, Obama waived that provision for another six months, citing “national interests.”
“I hereby determine and report to the Congress that suspension, for 6 months beyond February 1, 2013, of the right to bring an action under title III of the Act is necessary to the national interests of the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba,” Obama wrote to lawmakers.
