Helms–Burton Act

The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 (Helms–Burton Act, Pub.L. 104–114, 110 Stat. 785, 22 U.S.C. §§ 6021–6091) is a United States federal law which strengthens and continues the United States embargo against Cuba. The act extended the territorial application of the initial embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba, and penalized foreign companies allegedly "trafficking" in property formerly owned by U.S. citizens but confiscated by Cuba after the Cuban revolution. The act also covers property formerly owned by Cubans who have since become U.S. citizens.

The Act is named for its original sponsors, Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina, and Representative Dan Burton, Republican of Indiana.

The law was passed by the 104th United States Congress on March 6, 1996 and enacted into law by the 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton on March 12, 1996. The bill, which had been tabled in late 1995 after Senator Helms was unable to overcome several Democratic filibusters, was reintroduced prompted by an episode that happened a month earlier. On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two private planes operated by a Miami-based anti-Castro Cuban refugee support group called Brothers to the Rescue (Spanish: Hermanos al Rescate), which had been dropping propaganda leaflets over Cuban territory. Whether they were shot down over Cuban territory or international airspace is a matter of debate.