Havana (AFP)

Amazon, the online retail giant, added Thursday to the list of companies prosecuted under US law that represses the exploitation of nationalized goods during the Cuban revolution, told AFP lawyers.

The complaint was lodged in Miami, Florida by a US citizen, Daniel A. Gonzalez, a descendant of the former owner of an expropriated land in Cuba after the victory of the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro.

On this land is produced charcoal, a natural detoxifier, which is exported to the United States and that the US online trading giant sold on its website, according to the complaint.

Mr. Gonzalez's legal representative, Santiago A. Cueto, of the Floridian law firm Cueto Law Group, exposed the case by telephone to AFP.

"The Castro regime has expropriated and taken over (the land) and now produces what is called marabu charcoal (a type of tree) in my client's property and exports it to the United States. United to sell it, and Amazon was selling it on its website, "said the lawyer.

In addition to Amazon, the complaint is also against Fogo Charcoal, an American company located in Florida and accused of having also marketed this charcoal. These activities started in early 2017, according to the complaint.

AFP found that the product was no longer on Thursday on the websites of both companies.

The land of about 820 hectares that Mr. Gonzalez claims the property is in the province of Granma, in eastern Cuba.

According to the lawyer, his client is asking for financial compensation "which may include the total value of the land and the penalty for making traffic with this property".

The complaint was filed under Title III of the US Helms-Burton Act, promulgated in 1966. This Title III, the application of which had been suspended by successive US presidents, was activated last May by Donald Trump's administration. .

It allows to prosecute in the US courts any person or company that exploits property confiscated in Cuba after the Castroite revolution.

The Helms-Burton Act reinforced the embargo Washington imposed on Cuba in 1962 with the aim of overthrowing the socialist regime.

The Cuban government, for its part, believes that the Helms-Burton law is inapplicable because of its extraterritorial nature.

© 2019 AFP