Clinton signs Helms-Burton Act, codifying Cuba embargo into law

President Bill Clinton signed the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act on March 12, 1996, nine days after Cuban MiG jets shot down two Cessna planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four Cuban-Americans. Sponsored by Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Representative Dan Burton (R-IN), the law transferred control of Cuba embargo policy from the executive branch to Congress, meaning no president could lift the embargo without congressional approval. Title III of the act gave US nationals the right to sue in federal court anyone who profited from property confiscated by the Cuban government after 1959, though every president suspended that provision in six-month intervals until 2019.