A peaceful protest was called for this Monday at the United Methodist Building, near the Supreme Court, where Exxon Mobil oil company will present its arguments in a fabricated case against Cuba under the Helms-Burton Act.

The protesters will demand an end to “the oil war against Cuba and Exxon’s lawfare,” a release detailed.

Speakers include Paul Coates, founder of Black Classic Press; Blake Burdge, author and researcher; Leonardo Flores, of the Venezuela Network; Basev Sen, director of the Climate Justice Project at the Institute for Policy Studies; Reverend Nozomi Ikuta; and Cheryl LaBash, of the National Network on Cuba.

The Helms-Burton Act, enacted nearly 30 years ago by then-President William Clinton, includes Title III, which allows families and companies allegedly affected by the nationalizations carried out in Cuba after the revolutionary triumph of January 1, 1959, to seek compensation.

However, Title III remained dormant until 2019, when Trump decided to activate it during his first term. That same year, Exxon Mobil, formerly Standard Oil Company, filed a lawsuit challenging the expropriation of the current Ñico Lopez refinery in Havana, as well as 117 gas stations that operated in Cuba before 1959. The lawsuit was filed against Cimex Corporation and the Cuban oil company (CUPET).

President Trump issued an executive order on January 29, labeling Cuba an “extraordinary and unusual threat” to the United States and threatening to impose tariffs as a coercive measure against independent and sovereign countries that exercise their economic right to sell or supply fuel to the Caribbean nation.

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