A federal judge in Florida, United States ordered four cruise lines that included Cuba in their itineraries, to pay more than 400 million dollars for alleged damages to the U.S. company Havana Docks.

Havana, Jan 4 (RHC) The recent sanction by a Florida court against cruise ship companies aims to frighten those who do business with Cuba and reinforces the ban on U.S. citizens visiting the archipelago, Granma newspaper denounced Wednesday.

The newspaper refers to the ruling of Beth Bloom, a federal judge in Florida, United States, who ordered four cruise lines that included Cuba in their itineraries, to pay more than 400 million dollars for alleged damages to the U.S. company Havana Docks.

The latter had the concession to operate some of the docks in the port of Havana before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959.

Such a ruling obeys the provisions of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which reinforces the blockade imposed by Washington more than 60 years ago and is rejected by the resounding majority of the international community.

Granma warns that this ruling reaffirms the prohibition for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba even though the U.S. government insists that freedom to travel is a right of all people.

The newspaper also points out that the properties of the Havana Docks company were confiscated by the Cuban government in the use of its sovereignty, like any independent nation, but the United States never wanted to negotiate, nor did it allow its affected companies to do so.

He explains that on July 6, 1960, the Cuban government issued Law 851, complementary to the Fundamental Law of 1959, which established the principle of compulsory expropriation for reasons of public utility.

This legislation instituted the form "of compensating the nationalized property using the bonds of the Republic issued for that purpose, and provided for the appointment of experts to value such assets for their payment through the use of such bonds," Granma points out.

It adds that this would be made through Fund for the payment of expropriated goods and companies of nationals of the United States of America, created by the National Bank of Cuba.

This fund would be fed with 25 percent of the foreign currency that corresponded to the sugar purchases that the United States made each year from Cuba, the bonds would accrue two percent annual interest and would begin to be paid in a term of no less than 30 years.

However, one of Washington's measures against Cuba was to cut off the purchase of sugar, thus harming its citizens, since it made Act 851 impracticable, which would be followed in February 1962 by the blockade, which has been reinforced in recent years.