Mexico, China Vow to Protect Firms Against US Sanctions on Cuba

Several nations in the world have come out against the Trump administration's unilateral decision to allow the complete application of the controversial Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, opening the doors to a flood of lawsuits over alleged confiscation of property by the Cuban state.

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Mexico deplored on Wednesday the decision of the United States to apply Title III of the Helms-Burton Act and assured that it would protect the companies of the country that do business or have an interest in doing so on the Island. "As it has done historically, Mexico rejects the application of unilateral trade laws with extraterritorial character, because they violate the rules of international law," said the Ministry of foreign affairs of Mexico.

The government affirmed that "it will protect Mexican companies that do or have an interest in doing business with Cuba and that could be affected."

Beijing condemned the U.S. sanctions against Havana. "China always opposes the imposition of unilateral sanctions outside the framework the United Nations Security Council. The US blockade has already caused great damage to the economic and social development of Cuba and has disrupted the lives of its people," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Moscow immediately reacted to the U.S decision and rejected the reactivation of the Title III Helms-Burton Act as well as the new wave of U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Serguei Riabkov said the U.S. decisions were "totally unacceptable."

"Venezuela and Cuba are our allies in this region; they are our strategic partners; we will do everything that depends on us to receive our support," he continued. 

Also, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zajarova said during a weekly press conference that Moscow was "against any unilateral sanction."

"Sanctions are only possible if they are prepared within the framework of international institutions, such as the U.N., based on international law, collectively," she declared.

The president of the Association of Spanish Entrepreneurs in Cuba (AEEC), Xulio Fontecha, urged the European Union (EU) to apply "reciprocity" and punish the U.S. companies that use European companies for profiting from their old properties on the island.

The European Union (EU) and Canada issued a joint warning against the United States Wednesday after Washington reported that it would enforce Title III of the controversial Helms-Burton Act.

"The EU and Canada consider the extraterritorial application of unilateral Cuba-related measures contrary to international law," the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement that was also signed by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.