Havana Club rum war escalates: Biden bans brands confiscated by Fidel Castro
Havana Club rum war escalates: Biden bans brands confiscated by Fidel Castro . The new law enacted by the Democratic administration further escalates the political and commercial tensions between Washington and Cuba
EL PAÍS América
Before leaving the White House, Joe Biden — whose administration largely sidestepped issues related to Cuba — signed into law the No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act. Described by Cuban officials as “aggressive,” the law prohibits the use of trademarks confiscated from thousands of Cuban citizens by Fidel Castro in the early 1960s. It also clears the path for companies like Bacardi, the current U.S. distributor of Havana Club rum, to advance their decades-long legal battle against Cuba over the iconic brand.

The commercial and political dispute over Havana Club rum remains a flashpoint, tying Cuban rum and Cuba itself to the lingering tensions of the Cold War. Two competing owners claim rights to the same brand, each presenting a different narrative. On social media platform X, one account promotes Havana Club as “official,” featuring folkloric photos of Cuban people and branding itself as authentic Cuban rum. Another account, displaying a different bottle and label, claims to be the “real” Havana Club. The first is made in Cuba, the second in Puerto Rico. The former is represented by the Cuban state-owned enterprise Cubaexport, while the latter is backed by Bacardi.

Questions of authenticity, originality, and rightful ownership dominate the controversy: Which rum is more Cuban? Which brand is the original? And which should have the right to international distribution? The Biden administration has now taken a decisive stance, effectively barring Havana from asserting rights over certain trademarks in U.S. markets. Law H.R. 1505, passed with broad congressional support, explicitly prohibits U.S. courts from recognizing trademark claims unless the original owner has given consent.

The rum battle

Between 1959 and 1968, Fidel Castro’s government confiscated or nationalized thousands of properties belonging to Cuban citizens, many of whom were later forced into exile. While numerous owners of transportation companies, construction firms, real estate holdings, banks, and vast tracts of land were targeted, the Arechabala family — creators of Havana Club rum — the most prominent victims were the Arechabala family, creators of Havana Club rum.

Havana Club was first crafted in 1934 at the La Vizcaya distillery, founded by José Arechabala, a Spanish entrepreneur who settled in Matanzas province after arriving in Cuba as a teenager. Following the Revolution, the Castro regime seized the Arechabala family’s assets, leaving José to rebuild his life as a car salesman in the United States.

Despite the upheaval, Havana Club rum continued to be produced and sold in Cuba. In 1993, the Cuban state-owned Cubaexport partnered with the French group Pernod Ricard to introduce the Havana Club brand to the international market — excluding the United States, where the trade embargo prohibited its sale.

Meanwhile, the American market remained stocked with a rum bearing the same name. According to accounts, José Arechabala never returned to the rum business but ensured that the original Havana Club recipe, which relies on an intricate and lengthy aging process, left Cuba with him. In 1994, the Arechabala family sold the brand and the recipe to Bacardi, which has since produced Havana Club in Puerto Rico.

This marked the beginning of a complex saga involving two competing rums, two owners, and a web of politics and exile. The Arechabala family has long maintained that the Cuban state “stole” their recipe, while Cuban authorities insist that the true Havana Club rum is the one produced on the island, not in Puerto Rico.

Legal battles over the brand in the United States date back to 1976, when Cubaexport registered the Havana Club trademark. Renewing the registration was complicated by restrictions from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and it wasn’t until 2016 that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) reinstated Cubaexport’s rights. However, in 2004, Bacardi sued Cubaexport in Washington after the PTO declined to cancel the trademark. Cubaexport countersued Bacardi for infringement.

In 2023, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Bacardi, handing the Puerto Rican-produced Havana Club a significant legal victory in the U.S. market.

Opposition and support

The bicameral legislative initiative, now signed into law, was introduced in 2023 by Representatives Darrell Issa and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “I have heard Cuban-American voters recount how their families were stripped of hard-earned wealth, expropriated by autocratic regimes,” the Florida congresswoman told Telemundo. “I am grateful to President Biden for turning our bill into law and demonstrating the United States’ continued commitment to the fight against intellectual property theft.”

California Representative Darrell Issa echoed these sentiments, arguing the legislation rights an “historic injustice” and is a “declaration that the bond between the American people and their intellectual property is sacred.”

Previously, other prominent politicians, including former Senator Bob Menendez and future Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had advocated for the bill, framing it as a measure to protect the rights of individuals whose property was confiscated during the early years of the Cuban Revolution.

With the issue back in the spotlight, Pernod Ricard— Cubaexport’s French partner and co-owner of the Havana Club brand — voiced its disappointment in the Democratic administration’s decision. In statements made to The Drinks Business, the company argued that the new law “calls into question its longstanding rights to the Havana Club trademark in the United States — a trademark that Pernod Ricard and its joint-venture partner, Cubaexport, have legitimately held since 1976.”

Cuban officials also reacted swiftly to the new law, which they see as a direct attack on one of their most prized exports. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the measure as “aggressive” and claimed it violated international law.

Johana Tablada de la Torre, deputy director general of the U.S. Directorate at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, labeled the move a “maneuver,” asserting that its primary objective was “to block the renewal of the Havana Club brand in the United States, scheduled for 2026, and to strip Cubaexport of its rights as the registered owner under the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office.”

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2024-12-06
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The new law enacted by the Democratic administration further escalates the political and commercial tensions between Washington and Cuba
Havana Club rum war escalates: Biden bans brands confiscated by Fidel Castro