"When the Cuban economy opens we will be facing the largest bankruptcy of the 21st century, 90 miles off our shore."

Soon after Fidel Castro won control of Cuba in 1959, his government began confiscating the property of thousands of U.S. citizens and companies. For Edmund and Enna Chester, the losses included an 80-acre farm, hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of stock, and a brand new Buick that, who knows, may still be plying Havana's streets.

The confiscation of American property, valued today at $7 billion or more, was wrapped up in the retaliatory back-and-forth that led to the trade embargo, which remains in place. In 1996, Congress passed a law insisting Cuba repay Americans for what was taken before the embargo can be lifted.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.