WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favour of owners of Cuban property that was confiscated by Fidel Castro’s government more than 65 years ago.

By an 8-1 vote on Thursday, the justices revived claims filed by a U.S. company, Havana Docks, that operated docks in the Cuban capital.

The suit targets four cruise companies – Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), Royal Caribbean and MSC – that brought travellers to Cuba during the brief thaw in relations during former President Barack Obama’s administration.

The court’s ruling is not a final decision in the suit filed by Havana Docks. But it comes amid heightened pressure on Cuba from President Donald Trump’s administration, including Wednesday’s indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles.

In the wake of the charges the U.S. again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba.

Trump’s “preference is always a negotiated agreement that’s peaceful. That’s always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Miami before boarding a plane to attend a NATO meeting in Sweden and then visit India.

“I’m just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we’re dealing with right now, is not high,” he said.

Top Trump aides — including Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and other senior national security officials — have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government in the past week.

Rubio pushed back on a reporter’s suggestion that it sounded like “nation-building,” insisting it was about addressing a national security risk.

Rubio would not discuss how the U.S. might move to implement the indictment against Castro, who turns 95 next month.

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.