437.11/12–3046
The Secretary of State to the Cuban Ambassador (Belt)
Excellency: I have the honor to refer to your conversation of May 17, 1946 with an officer of the Department,10 concerning the possible satisfaction of various claims of United States nationals against the Government of Cuba.
I am well aware of the friendly spirit in which your Government, during certain conversations held with President Grau in December of 1944, has expressed its sincere desire to dispose of recognized obligations owing to American nationals, and to submit to a Mixed Claims Commission such claims of American nationals as have not received the final approval of the Cuban Government.
I am therefore enclosing representative lists (A and B, attached)11 of debts owed by the Cuban Government to American nationals, the validity of which is, so far as is known, not in dispute, having been confirmed, either in whole or in part, by decisions of the Cuban courts or by the acknowledgment of the appropriate administrative agencies of the Cuban Government.
As the nature of these recognized claims appears to be well-understood by both Governments, I am convinced that Your Excellency’s Government will wish to take such steps as may be necessary to effect an early settlement.
[Page 770]I have also enclosed a representative list of claims believed to be meritorious, although no evidence of supporting court decisions or administrative acknowledgment by the Cuban Government has been submitted.12 I assume that it is with such claims as these that the proposed claims convention mentioned above would be concerned. The Department has prepared a suggested draft of such a convention, which I am transmitting herewith.13 I shall anticipate with interest the expression of your Government’s views thereon.
In the enclosed lists it will be observed that charges for interest since the date of origin of each claim to the present date have not as yet been computed, and claims based solely upon interest allegedly owed American nationals have not been included.
It should be understood that there may be other outstanding claims which have not as yet been brought to the attention of the Department of State.
Accept [etc.]
- See memorandum by the Director of the Office of American Republic Affairs, May 20, p. 767.↩
- Lists not printed. List A, claims of U.S. nationals sustained in whole or in part by Cuban courts, totalled $1,338,798.52; list B, claims acknowledged in whole or in part by Cuban Government agencies, totalled $5,168,592.97.↩
- List C (not printed), claims concerning which no evidence of court decisions or administrative acknowledgment had been submitted, totalled $2,654,240.12. Claims A, B, and C totalled $9,161,631.61.↩
- Not printed.↩