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Essay On Cuban Embargo

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Embargoes are restrictions on trade between countries used to achieve some kind of goal. The United States has imposed an embargo on Cuba to encourage the Cuban government to change the way they run themselves because the United States does not agree with the system of government they have in place. This embargo enacts total restrictions on trade and travel between the United States and Cuba. The United States’ embargo against Cuba should be lifted because it is doing more harm than good to both countries involved.
To start, embargoes in the United States started with Jefferson’s Embargo of 1807 (“The Embargo of 1807”). Embargoes are put in place by countries in hopes to maintain or restore peace between countries (“Sanctions, Embargoes and Restrictions”). They can be enacted for a number of different reasons including moral, political, or environmental objections or concerns (Berkheimer). Embargoes seek to encourage a country to change the regimes or groups that have allowed the behavior from which the concerns arise. They do this by way of bans on certain things like travel, arms, or …show more content…

Both of these problems created by the embargo leave ordinary citizens to suffer, not their government. Because of the wholesale ban on trade, American food and related supplies cannot be exported to Cuba. Many of the Cuban citizens are malnourished which leads to medical problems Cubans’ do not have the resources to handle. Malnourishment also means pregnant women cannot receive what their bodies need during pregnancies, leading to a high infant mortality rate for a developed country. Due to trade restrictions Cuba cannot get any significant number of water treatment chemicals to purify water for drinking. This has led to a decrease in the amount of safe drinking water that is available to Cuban citizens (“Denial of

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