Common Questions

Can Trump lift Cuba sanctions without Congress?: No. The LIBERTAD (Helms-Burton) Act of 1996 codified the Cuba embargo into statute; lifting it requires a congressional vote, not just an executive order.Source: LIBERTAD Act text; Congressional Research Service
What is the Helms-Burton Act?: The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, which codifies the Cuba embargo and allows US nationals to sue foreign companies using property confiscated from them by Cuba.Source: LIBERTAD Act legislative record

Background

The LIBERTAD Act (Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, 1996), known as the Helms-Burton Act, is the foundational US legislative framework for the Cuba embargo. Florida Republican congressmen including Mario Diaz-Balart and Maria Elvira Salazar invoked the Act in their February 2026 letter to OFAC and BIS demanding revocation of every active licence authorising US business with Cuban state-controlled entities.

The LIBERTAD Act codified the Cuban embargo into statute, stripping the president of unilateral authority to lift it without congressional approval. Its Title III allows US nationals (including naturalised Cuban-Americans) to sue foreign companies trafficking in property confiscated from them after the revolution. Title III was suspended by every administration from 1996 until the Trump administration activated it in 2019, opening courts to claims against foreign firms doing business in Cuba.

The Act's significance in 2026 is structural: it means no executive order or presidential negotiation can fully lift the Cuba embargo without a congressional vote. Any normalisation deal negotiated through the Holy See talks would ultimately require LIBERTAD Act-compatible legislation, making Florida Republicans who cite it effectively veto players over any US-Cuba rapprochement.