US Supreme Court clears ExxonMobil lawsuit against Cuba over Castro-era property seizures

The ruling

The Supreme Court's six conservative justices formed the majority, while the three liberal justices dissented. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion, stating that the 1996 Helms-Burton Act eliminates sovereign immunity for Cuban agencies and instrumentalities in lawsuits over confiscated property.

“The Helms-Burton Act authorizes private suits against Cuban agencies and instrumentalities — suits that would largely be nonstarters if subjected to the FSIA's requirements.”

Justice Elena Kagan, joined by the court's two other liberal members, argued that the law does not clearly override the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

“Nothing in the text or 'architecture' of the Helms-Burton Act suggests that Congress abrogated the sovereign immunity of these defendants — much less that it did so with the requisite unmistakable clarity.”

The seized assets

ExxonMobil, then known as Standard Oil, lost its Cuban oil refinery, terminals, bottling plants and more than 100 service stations when Fidel Castro's government nationalized foreign-owned property in 1960. The US Foreign Claims Settlement Commission valued the assets at $71.6 million in 1969, plus 6% annual interest from 1960. With interest and potential treble damages, the claim now ranges from $1 billion to $3 billion, depending on the source.

Exxon sued three Cuban state-owned entities, including Corporación CIMEX and Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), alleging they continue to operate and profit from the confiscated property without compensation.

Legal background

The Helms-Burton Act, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, was a response to Cuba's downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. Title III allows US nationals to sue anyone who traffics in property confiscated by the Cuban government after the 1959 revolution. Every president suspended that provision until Donald Trump lifted the suspension in 2019. ExxonMobil filed its lawsuit the same day.

A lower court ruled in 2024 that CIMEX could invoke sovereign immunity, blocking the suit. Tuesday's decision reverses that ruling and returns the case for further proceedings on liability.

Broader implications

The ruling is the second this term in favor of US owners of confiscated Cuban property. In May, the justices revived claims by a US dock operator against cruise lines that used seized Havana docks. Both decisions strengthen the Trump administration's pressure campaign against Cuba, which already includes an oil embargo and sanctions on countries supplying fuel to the island.

The administration backed Exxon's position, arguing that such lawsuits are a critical diplomatic tool. The ruling arrives amid heightened tensions: the US recently brought murder charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, and the island is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades.