Spanish Hotel Chains Meliá and Iberostar Resist U.S. Policy On Property In Cuba
Photo Credit by Gary Raynaldo / The Spain-owned Meliá Cohiba hotel across from Malecón sea in Havana, Cuba
DIPLOMATIC TIMES STAFF
Spanish chains Iberostar and Meliá plan to continue investing in Cuba despite the activation of Title III and announced they would be investing millions of euros in projects on the island in coming years. President Trump opened the door this month for lawsuits over Cuban confiscated properties. The Trump administration announced last month it is allowing former owners of commercial property expropriated by Cuba to sue companies and the Cuban government for using or “trafficking” in those confiscated holdings. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. won’t renew a ban on litigation that had been in place for two decades The Trump administration activated, effective last week, Title III of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD). Lawsuits will now be allowed in American courts against Cuban companies using property seized during the 1959 revolution. However, Spanish hotel chain Melia Hotels International, in anticipation of the new U.S. policy, issued a statement last month, essentially rejecting the latest American sanctions against Cuba that harden the 60-year economic, financial and trade blockade on the island. Melia states that it legitimately operates in Cuba.
Spanish hostelry giant Meliá International is expanding its hotels in Cuba. Meliá has added 5 new hotels with a total of 409 rooms to its portfolio in the Caribbean island in the first quarter of 2018. According to Meliá, the Spain-based hotel company will operate 2,145 new rooms in Cuba by the end of 2018 with plans for additional properties this year.
Photo by Gary Raynaldo / Towering, gleaming luxury 401-room Meliá Cohiba Hotel located in the Vedado district of Havana, Cuba, just off the Malecón. The hotel opened in 1994. The hotel is a joint venture between Meliá International and the Cuban State.
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