ExxonMobil sued companies in Cuba for nationalizations overseen by Fidel Castro

The oil company ExxonMobil sued Friday the state-owned companies Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet) and the Cimex group of companies for the nationalizations of the government Fidel Castro., according to court documents.

ExxonMobil accuses Cuban companies of "illegal trafficking in confiscated property" after the 1959 revolution, under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 and which the Trump administration enacted on Thursday.

In the lawsuit filed in the District Court of Columbia, reparations are sought for the usufruct of a refinery, gas stations and other badets.

The document was published on the website of the Cuba-United States Economic and Trade Council, a New York-based organization.

Exxon is one of the companies born of the late Standard Oil, whose refinery in Havana was one of the first Americans nationalized by Castro. Exxon then merged with Mobil in 1988.

The refinery is currently operated by Cupet, while the Cimex business group, capital of the Cuban capital and the largest of its kind in the country, operates gas stations on the island.

On Thursday, cruise operator Carnival became the first company to be sued in US courts for using ports in Havana and Santiago de Cuba (southeast).

The rule, enacted by President Donald Trump, allows Americans and Cuban-Americans to sue in US courts on behalf of corporations that have made profits through nationalized corporations after 1959.

This provision had been systematically suspended since its adoption by all US presidents so as not to create friction with its allies, as happened.