In 1954 Washington’s intervening in Latin American affairs-CIA-directed coup that ousted a leftist government in Guatemala. Few of the most ominous of all was the communist beach-head in Cuba. The dictator Fulgencio Batista, in power since the 1930s, had encouraged huge investments of American capital; in return Washington gave support. Later black bearded Fidel Castro engineered a revolution that denounced the Yankee imperialists and began to expropriate valuable American properties in pursuing a land-distribution program. Washington, finally gave up patience and released Cuba from “imperialistic slavery by cutting off they heavy U.S. imports of Cuban sugar. This lead into further retaliation from Castro to confiscate Yankee property which
Cuba “held an economical potential that attracted American business interests and a strategic significance for any Central American canal” (Goldfield, Abbott and Anderson, p 638). Cuban rebellion “erupted again in 1895 in a classic guerrilla war… [and] American economic interests were seriously affected” (book pg638). The Spaniards started confining the locals to concentration camps “where tens of thousands died of starvation and disease” (book pg 638). This gained a lot of publicity throughout America as journalist’s were reporting the harsh treatment, which helped persuade our nation to intervene. Furthermore, this led to growing tension between Spain and
After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.
Cuba was one of the territories that United States imperialized. The US was a heavy consumer of the sugar produced in Cuba but didn’t meet the sugar industry demands. The international market collapsed, and the US used this opportunity to purchase the sugar mills in Cuba “Cuban sugar mills into bankruptcy … sensing an opportunity, investors from the United States
During the Cold War, a new leader of Cuba rose to the top. Fidel Castro threw Barista out of power and began to lead the Cuban people with flying colors. Little did these citizens know, was he was leading them into bad relations with his many Soviet ties. But before Cuba was touched upon by Castro, the U.S. had gained the territory from Spain in 1898, in the end of the Spanish-American War. Gaining Cuba as a territory to the U.S., it was then in charge of the country's affairs and leased its naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Cuba was also one of the largest sugar producers in the century. The U.S. saw the sugar business was essential for trade profit. Between Cuba's agriculture, while growing tobacco Cuba could partner with southern U.S. to harvest and export many
The United States embargo of Cuba has its roots planted in 1960, 53 years ago, when “the United States Congress authorized President Eisenhower to cut off the yearly quota of sugar to be imported from Cuba under the Sugar act of 1948… by 95 percent” (Hass 1998, 37). This was done in response to a growing
Before the Spanish the US had no political reasons of interest to become engaged in conflict within the Caribbean region. To draw attention to their campaigns, US politicians, like Albert J. Beveridge, began to declare that it was America’s God given right to go to Cuba and take control; although this was not the
The Spanish, who claimed control of Cuba, was faced with a revolution in 1895. The Spanish Governor and General, Valeriano Weyler, issued a law forcing Cuban citizens into concentration camps (“United States Imperialism”). President of the United States, William Mckinley, felt obligated to defend Cuba since America had invested some fifty million dollars in Cuban resources: sugar, tobacco, iron productions (“United States Imperialism”). Spain and the United States quickly began to argue over the fate of Cuba. The Spanish Minister, Señor Dupuy de Lome, wrote a letter stating that Mckinley was weak and unfit for presidential power; the letter was intercepted and ended up in Mckinley’s enraged hands (PBS).
Over the course of the history of the United States, specific foreign policies have affected the methods in which the U.S. involves itself around the globe. Specifically, certain policies have affected U.S. involvement in Latin America.
Before the smoke cleared, Congress adopted a joint resolution that stated that the United States couldn’t annex Cuba and had to leave. Americans didn’t want an invasion of cheap labor of any race, but they did want an empire. Every island and every jungle became able to be plucked by the imperialistic Americans by the interpretations of modern liberal historians. The United States introduced education and fiscal reforms were the first evidence of American policies
When Fidel Castro took over Cuba by means of a revolution, he quickly established his government as the first openly Communist government in the western hemisphere. He petitioned the Soviet Union for aid, which was cheerfully given him. These events went against our current policies, as well as the Monroe Doctrine, which established us as the police force of the western hemisphere. Ninety miles away from the greatest bastion of Capitalism was now residing its greatest foe. This tense situation was brought to a boiling point by the arrival of
George Washington did a modest job in the region of foreign policies, while both making good decisions that would benefit the country and tackling the conflicts that occurred.
US foreign policy in Latin America is greatly influenced by its interactions with Cuba during the late fifties. With the efforts of Fidel and Raul Castro, and other Marxist revolutionaries such as Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, the corrupt and tyrannical caudillo
America intervened in Latin America for economic interests and ideological reasons. After the war with Spain, the Americans used the military protection as an excuse of the borders intervention, since many companies were investing on that area in the early of 20th century. And they expected to maintain control of a market of trade in the Caribbean and Latin America.
It all took place during the Cold War. Fulgencio Batista’s government before the Cuban Revolution was ineffective, incompetent, and dishonest. Batista ruled over Cuba as a dictator leading to dissent and widespread corruption in Cuba with the gap between the upper and lower classes very wide. Businessmen mostly associated with the American mafia established operations in Cuba. “The U.S. State department was more concerned with Cuba's stability and continued supplies of sugar than with the prevalence of graft and corruption.” The government of that time was serving the interests of US mostly and the interests of those ruling Cuba at that time as explained by the fortunes amassed by Batista et al, part of which was money deposited by Mafia figures such as Meyer Lanski. (Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez 77) The
Able to weather a variety of political leaders, economic events, and historical eras, the U.S. embargo of Cuba is the longest and harshest embargo by one state against another in modern history. Following Castro’s overthrow of the Batista government in 1959 and threats to incite revolutions elsewhere in Latin America, the Unites State cancelled its trade agreement to buy Cuban sugar. Then, following a series of increasing hostile events, the United States severed diplomatic relations and initiated a full trade embargo in 1962. Trade between the United States and Cuba stopped. Spurred by the collapse of communism more than thirty years later, Congress