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U.S. Trade Embargo Against Cuba United States Trade Embargo Against Cuba NAME Bellevue University SCLM 446

U.S. TRADE EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA Abstract The United States enacted the Trade embargo against Cuba in 1960, a year after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Cuba had nationalized American-owned properties and strengthened ties with the Soviet Union. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Embargo continued. In 1992 The U.S. introduced the Cuba Democracy Act and then in 1996, the Helms-Burton Act which expanded the embargo to include foreign companies and affiliates of American companies doing business with Cuba. Foreign ships were not allowed to dock at U.S. ports until after 6 months of visiting Cuba, regardless of the type of cargo. The 1992 legislation removed the exemption of humanitarian goods to add pressure to other countries to stop providing humanitarian goods to Cuba. 61 years later and the embargo against Cuba remains. 2

U.S. TRADE EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA United States Trade Embargo Against Cuba In 1959, after several years of “anti-Batista” efforts, Fidel Castro led Cuban rebels against Cuba’s leader, Fulgencio Batista. Despite the belief of Castro and supporters being underdogs who would not be successful against Batista, Castro was victorious, overthrowing Batista and achieving the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Castro expelled all Batista supporters out of Cuba leaving only the Castro supporters. Many had hoped for democratic improvements to come from the Cuban Revolution, however, Castro moved further towards communism. Midway through the year in July 1959, Castro established land- confiscation and wealth-distribution programs as part of his communist efforts. Meanwhile, the U.S. did not take the rise of communism lightly and watched vigilantly as communism began to further develop close to the U.S. territory. U.S. Ambassador Philip Bonsal eventually had discussions with Castro concerning the arrests of U.S. citizens in Cuba and Cuban government confiscation of U.S. assets in Cuba, but these discussions proved ineffective. Hostilities began to grow as Cuba strengthened relations with Communist nations against the U.S. and encouraged anti-U.S. approaches. At one point, Castro claimed that the U.S. sabotaged a ship that blew up in Havana’s Harbor. This led to further rapidly declining Cuba-American relations. Finally in October 1960, the U.S. imposed a strict embargo, barring two-thirds of American imports from Cuba and halting seventy percent of Cuba’s imports from the United States. The harassment from Cuba continued for two years until President Eisenhower ordered to break all diplomatic ties and to end all travel to Cuba. Six decades later, temporary lapses and reinstatements, the embargo still remains. (Rothman, 2014) . The United States’ embargo against Cuba is said to be a “failed policy that isolates Cuba as a relic of the Cold War” and hurts Cuban citizens rather than the original purpose of pushing out the Castro’s. Over 6 decades later, the Castros are barely removed from power, and the Cuban people feel the economic effects of the embargo. “Lifting the embargo is a cross-sector issue affecting numerous industries: agriculture, business, healthcare, and of course, education” (Pepper, 2021). 3

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