The Spanish companyMeliá Hotels International, hiredThe Raben Group to interview United States legislators about possible changes in policy towards Cuba.
Meliá is especially interested in knowing the modifications that could be made to theLey Helms-Burton, from the 1990s, if there were a scenario in which Republicans gain control of Congress after the 2022 midterm elections.
The 1996 regulations extended the US embargo to Cuba and affect foreign companies operating on the island. HeMeliá's objective is to prepare, with concrete strategies to follow, to deal with the implications that political changes could have.
The agreement between The Raben Group and Meliá will be valid from May 16 to August 15. It is worth $35 thousand dollars per month.Stuart Rodriguez, co-founder of the American company, is the one who leads the investigation into Cuba and reports to the legal and compliance director of Meliá,Juan Ignacio Pardo.
claims that Raben met with State Department officials, such asMara Tekach, director of the Office of Cuban Affairs,Ricardo Zuniga, Undersecretary of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs andDanny Meza, Undersecretary of Economic Growth, Energy and Environment.
The media outlet quoted the company as saying that public officials "must conduct due diligence to understand under what circumstances policymakers would support Meliá Hotels International's objectives." They warned that there is no financial support for those who participate in this research.
The Raben Group is an American public affairs and strategic communications firm. They have experience in working on political issues, this is one of their services for clients like Meliá. They offer their extensive communications networks in government and public affairs to connect you with legislators across the country, including from the Capitol to state and local government seats.
Meliá has40 hotels in Cuba, distributed throughout the territory in Havana, Varadero, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba; as in the keys (Coco, Guillermo, Largo, Santa María).
The Spanish company will open anew hotel on the southern coast of Cuba. This is the Trinidad Peninsula that will have a 4-star plus category and is located 10 kilometers from the Historic Center of the city. It will operate under the All Inclusive modality and is expected to begin offering services in 2023.
In 2019, Meliá faced the first lawsuit in court in the United States for theLey Helms-Burton, under accusations of trafficking in properties seized by the Cuban government. The Cuban-American Mata family formalized the class action lawsuit against Meliá in a federal court in South Florida.
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