(Washington, DC) Mauricio Tamargo was interviewed by the Globe and Mail in Canada about unresolved U.S. claims against the government of Cuba for unlawfully confiscated properties, businesses, as well as unpaid financial obligations and other claims that the government of Cuba owes American citizens and other persons:

“Former chair of the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, Mauricio J. Tamargo, says that, in fact, the American claims are not based on paper values; rather, Washington arrived at its final tally by looking at a combination of real-estate property taxes, comparables in sales prices at the time of the revolution, and receipts of improvements at the time of expropriation.

Now a lawyer at law firm PobleteTamargo in Washington, the Havana-born Tamargo adds that the list of claimants isn’t up-to-date: Many individual claimants have passed away, and their relatives have not given notice; some corporate claimants could have gone into bankruptcy or have new owners who are unaware of any claim. “The U.S. government,” he explains, “has been somewhat negligent in setting up a system for keeping the claims current.”

“Regardless, he insists, what has happened to property since its seizure does not affect the value of a certified claim – that is a precept of international law.

You can read the rest of the story at the Globe and Mail.