New protests against ExxonMobil in London for sueing Cuba

British activists in solidarity with Cuba protested here today against the US oil company ExxonMobil, which sued two Cuban companies after President Donald Trump activated Title III of the Helms-Burton Act in May.

‘ExxonMobil’s execution of Title III is vulgar extortion. Stop the blockade of Cuba now,’ demanded the activists, banner in hand in front of a gas station of the Esso company, commercial subsidiary of the US transnational, in the luxurious London neighborhood of Mayfair.

The protest called by the Green Anti-Capitalist Front and the Revolutionary Communist Group saw Cuban flags and placards, briefly blocking access to fuel pumps, while flyers were handed out to passers-by explaining the reason for the protest, which lasted a couple of hours.

‘We are here to denounce ExxonMobil for wanting to take advantage of the blockade of Cuba, and in particular the Helms-Burton Act, a criminal law that forms part of the US government’s anti-Cuban strategy,’ explained Elias Ferrer, a Spaniard living in the United Kingdom, in statements to Prensa Latina.

According to the activist, the protest will be repeated this Thursday evening in front of another Esso gas station, in the populous area of Camden.

‘We want to tell the people in Cuba that we are supporting them, and that we are going to continue protesting against ExxonMobil and against the US blockade,’ he remarked.

Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which had been frozen since the passage of the anti-Cuban legislation in 1996, authorizes US courts to accept lawsuits filed against Cuban or foreign companies that ‘traffick’ in US properties nationalized after the triumph of the 1959 Revolution.