Ideas

Ideas

Cuba, you owe us $7 billion

Behind the trade embargo lies a huge and nearly forgotten obstacle: the still-active property claims by American companies. Inside the effort to settle a 50-year-old debt

The top 50The largest American property claims against Cuba certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, according to a 2007 report by Creighton University scholars.
RankName of claimantAmount certifiedAssets include
1Cuban Electric Co.$267.57mCorporate assets
2Intl. Telephone & Telegraph Corp.$130.68mCorporate assets
3North American Sugar Industries Inc.$108.98mCorporate assets
4Moa Bay Mining Co.$88.35mRural mining property
5United Fruit Sugar Co.$85.10mImproved real property
6West Indies Sugar Corp.$84.88mRural farming land
7American Sugar Co.$81.01mUrban beachfronts
8Exxon Corp.$71.61mOil refinery
9Texaco Inc.$56.20mCorporate assets
10The Francisco Sugar Co.$53.39mCorporate assets
11Bangor Punta Corp.$53.38mSecurities
12Manati Sugar Co.$48.59mCorporate assets
13Nicaro Nickel Co.$33.01mCorporate assets
14The Coca-Cola Co.$27.53mUrban commercial buildings
15Lone Star Cement Corp.$24.88mn.a.
16The New Tuinucu Sugar Co.$23.34mSugar mills
17Colgate-Palmolive Co.$14.51mCorporate assets
18Sinclair Oil Corp.$13.20mCorporate assets
19Braga Brothers Inc$12.61mSecurities
20Boise Cascade Corp.$11.75mUrban commercial building
21Claflin, Helen A.$11.69mSecurities
22American Brands Inc.$11.68mDebts and mortgages
23Burrus Mills Inc.$9.85mExperimental farm
24Pan-American Life Insurance Co.$9.74mCorporate assets
25United States Rubber Co.$9.52mCorporate assets
26Powe, William$9.51mUrban residential property
27Estate of Sumner Pingree$9.37mRural farming land
28F.W. Woolworth Co.$9.19mContents of 11 retail stores office building
29Havana Docks Corp.$9.18mCommercial building, land
30Continental Can Co.$8.91mRural commercial building
31Loeb, John L.$8.57mSecurities
32International Harvester Co.$8.26mCorporate assets
33Owens-lllinois Inc.$8.04mSecurities
34Arango, Mercedes$7.92mRural farming land
35Order of Hermits of St. Augustin$7.89mUrban commercial building
36The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A$7.71mCorporate assets
37Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.$7.65mCorporate assets
38Carl Marks & Co.$7.33mSecurities
39IBM World Trade Corp.$6.45mCorporate assets
40Swift and Co.$5.95mLand, buildings, machinery
41The First National Bank of Boston$5.90mCorporate assets
42General Electric Co.$5.87mCorporate assets
43Estate of Sumner Pingree$5.81mSecurities
44Libby, McNeil & Libby$5.71mSecurities
45The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.$5.12mDebts and mortgages
46Procter & Gamble Co.$5.00mDebts and mortgages
47First National City Bank$4.97mUrban commercial buildings
48Lengyel, Olga$4.87mApartments, art objects, cash
49Davis, Arthur V.$4.27mRural farming land
50GMAC, South America$3.88mCorporate assets