164-593: Cuba Solidarity Campaign is a British organisation founded in 1962 that campaigns against the US embargo of Cuba , for an end to the US occupation of Cuban land at Guantánamo Bay , and against foreign intervention in Cuba. The Campaign operates travel tours to Cuba. Jeremy Corbyn , Labour MP for Islington North and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020, is a long-time supporter of
328-407: A mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas, close to Los Cayuelos , on 2 December 1956. Fleeing inland, its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Oriente's Sierra Maestra, being repeatedly attacked by Batista's troops. Upon arrival, Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination, the rest having been killed or captured. Setting up an encampment , the survivors included
492-660: A Cuban airport would violate this transaction law, it is effectively impossible for ordinary tourists to visit Cuba without breaking the monetary transaction rule. The embargo was reinforced in October 1992 by the Cuban Democracy Act and in 1996 by the Cuban Liberty and Democracy Solidarity Act (known as the Helms–Burton Act ) which penalizes foreign companies that do business in Cuba by preventing them from doing business in
656-454: A Cuban prison after being accused of subversion while on a mission to bring internet services to Jewish community groups in Cuba, for the three remaining members of the Cuban Five . Cuba also agreed to release 53 political prisoners and to allow Red Cross and UN human-rights investigators access. President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro met on April 11, 2015, the first meeting between
820-552: A May Day speech in 1960, Fidel Castro inferred that elections were a corrupt affair, and that all future elections would be cancelled. On 13 October 1960, the US prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba, initiating an economic embargo . In retaliation, the National Institute for Agrarian Reform INRA took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October, and on 25 October a further 166 US companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized. On 16 December,
984-724: A better deal. The second wave of nationalizations prompted the Eisenhower administration, in one of its last actions, to sever all diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961. The U.S. partial trade embargo with Cuba continued under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 . According to 2009 article in the Inter-American Law Review, the Cuban government's nationalization of U.S. owned property
1148-531: A bourgeois environment. In 1954, Batista's government held presidential elections , but no politician stood against him; the election was widely considered fraudulent. It had allowed some political opposition to be voiced, and Castro's supporters had agitated for an amnesty for the Moncada incident's perpetrators. Some politicians suggested an amnesty would be good publicity, and the Congress and Batista agreed. Backed by
1312-509: A close friend. Across Cuba, anti-Batista groups carried out bombings and sabotage; police responded with mass arrests, torture, and extrajudicial executions. In March 1957, the DRE launched a failed attack on the presidential palace, during which Antonio was shot dead. Batista's government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cuba's cities under control. In the Sierra Maestra mountains, Castro
1476-526: A communist, Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions. Most significantly, Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries. President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism. Angered, Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 July—blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his "fevered anti-Communism". Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded
1640-701: A dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses , the exodus of many Cubans , and the impoverishment of the country's economy. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born out of wedlock at his father's farm on 13 August 1926. His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz , a veteran of the Spanish–American War , was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia , in the northwest of Spain . He had become financially successful by growing sugarcane at Las Manacas farm in Birán , then in Oriente Province (now Holguín Province ). After
1804-454: A distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba. In contrast, his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and US imperialism. In April 1948, Castro travelled to Bogotá , Colombia, leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Perón 's Argentine government. There, the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting and clashes between
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#17328701461211968-635: A failed assassination attempt against him. Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba, where they had gained a large support base in Oriente. Other militant anti-Batista groups had sprung up, primarily from the student movement; most notable was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil (DRE), founded by José Antonio Echeverría . Antonio met with Castro in Mexico City , but Castro opposed
2132-534: A great deal of influence over Urrutia's regime, which was now ruling by decree . He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office. He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections. Although repeatedly denying that he
2296-426: A journalist from The New York Times . Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed. Castro's guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts, forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region, and by spring 1958, the rebels controlled a hospital, schools, a printing press, slaughterhouse, land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory. By 1958, Batista was under increasing pressure,
2460-575: A legal partnership that primarily catered to poor Cubans, albeit it proved a financial failure. Caring little for money or material goods, Castro failed to pay his bills; his furniture was repossessed and electricity cut off, distressing his wife. He took part in a high school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950, fighting with police to protest the Education Ministry's ban on student associations; he
2624-418: A letter to the press, declaring that he was "leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me ... As a follower of Martí, I believe the hour has come to take our rights and not beg for them, to fight instead of pleading for them." The Castros and several comrades travelled to Mexico, where Raúl befriended an Argentine doctor and Marxist–Leninist named Ernesto "Che" Guevara , who
2788-518: A one-man dictatorship. Batista moved to the right, solidifying ties with both the wealthy elite and the United States, severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, suppressing trade unions and persecuting Cuban socialist groups. Intent on opposing Batista, Castro brought several legal cases against the government, but these came to nothing, and Castro began thinking of alternative ways to oust
2952-520: A philosophical or moral character." In 2002, the Cuba Policy Foundation estimated that the embargo costs the U.S. economy $ 3.6 billion per year in economic output. In 2007, the U.S. Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has become more lenient with some of the sanctions imposed upon Cuba by introducing new streamlined procedures to expedite processing of license applications for exporting eligible agricultural commodities to Cuba. As
3116-574: A proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years. Inspired by their earlier success with the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état , in March 1960, US President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castro's government. He provided them with a budget of $ 13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia , who were aggrieved that Castro's government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba. During
3280-466: A prominent figure in protests against government attempts to raise bus fares. That year, he married Mirta Díaz Balart , a student from a wealthy family, through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. The relationship was a love match, disapproved of by both families, but Díaz Balart's father gave them tens of thousands of dollars, along with Batista, to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon. Marxism taught me what society was. I
3444-414: A request made by the U.S. House of Representatives , the total value of U.S. exports of selected agricultural products, intermediate goods, and manufactured goods to Cuba in the absence of U.S. sanctions was estimated to be at $ 146 and $ 658 million for U.S. imports from Cuba between 1996 and 1998. According to a 2000 research paper by Jorge Antonio, a professor of political economy, the economic effects of
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#17328701461213608-556: A result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administration's press censorship, torture, and extrajudicial executions. Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens, the US government ceased supplying him with weaponry. The opposition called a general strike , accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7. Beginning on 9 April, it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba, but little elsewhere. Batista responded with an all-out-attack, Operation Verano , in which
3772-475: A result of the embargo, but instead the lack of foreign currency due to the unwillingness of Cuba to liberalize its economy and diversify its export base during the years of abundant Soviet aid. Cuba also amassed substantial debts owed to its Japanese, European, and Latin American trading partners during the years of abundant Soviet aid. According to a 2001 U.S. International Trade Commission report in response to
3936-412: A result, annual U.S. exports to Cuba have risen from $ 6 million to about $ 350 million between 2000 and 2006. Over this period, U.S. exports to Cuba have totaled more than $ 1.5 billion. As of 2006, agricultural products comprised 98% of total U.S. exports to Cuba. In 2009, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that the embargo costs the U.S. economy $ 1.2 billion per year in lost sales and exports, while
4100-716: A revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement , with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara . Returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces from the Sierra Maestra . After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's prime minister. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination , economic embargo , and counter-revolution, including
4264-494: A speech for the Movement on 13 November, exposing the government's secret deals with the gangs and identifying key members. Attracting the attention of the national press, the speech angered the gangs and Castro fled into hiding, first in the countryside and then in the US. Returning to Havana several weeks later, Castro laid low and focused on his university studies, graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950. Castro co-founded
4428-495: A summit days earlier, stated "if President Obama does not dismantle this savage blockade of the Cuban people, then it is all a lie, it will all be a great farce and the U.S. empire will be alive and well, threatening us." Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( / ˈ k æ s t r oʊ / KASS -troh , Latin American Spanish: [fiˈðel aleˈxandɾo ˈkastɾo ˈrus] ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016)
4592-409: A training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare. Frank País was also killed, leaving Castro the MR-26-7's unchallenged leader. Although Guevara and Raúl were well known for their Marxist–Leninist views, Castro hid his, hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries. In 1957 he met with leading members of
4756-423: A tropical paradise free of racial discrimination . Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised, and in March 1959, Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $ 100 a month halved. The Cuban government also began to expropriate the casinos and properties from mafia leaders and taking millions in cash. Before he died Meyer Lansky said Cuba "ruined" him. In
4920-603: A visit by the president in February 1954. Meanwhile, Castro's wife Mirta gained employment in the Ministry of the Interior, something he discovered through a radio announcement. Appalled, he raged that he would rather die "a thousand times" than "suffer impotently from such an insult". Both Fidel and Mirta initiated divorce proceedings, with Mirta taking custody of their son Fidelito; this angered Castro, who did not want his son growing up in
5084-503: Is taken into account. Since the Trade Sanction Reform and Export Enhancement Act was enacted in 2000, the trade of food and medicine goods is excluded from the embargo. However, complex licensing and regulatory requirements severely limit export of medicines, medical equipment and supplies, which contain anything produced or patented by the United States, to Cuba. In 2020, $ 176.8 million worth of goods were exported to Cuba from
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5248-565: Is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men. Whatever we may think of him he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally. He seems to be sincere. He is either incredibly naive about Communism or under Communist discipline-my guess is the former...His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure I have met in fifty countries. But because he has
5412-534: Is the “largest uncompensated taking of American property by a foreign government in history.” Assets seized, included vacation homes and bank accounts of wealthy individuals, but most seized property was owned by large American corporations, including sugar factories, mines and oil refineries. At the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 17 to 20 April 1961, an operation devised under Eisenhower but which President John F. Kennedy had approved preceding his presidency, Castro characterized
5576-429: The 1948 general election , Castro remained committed to working on his behalf. Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers, and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university. However, he refused to do so and began to carry a gun and surround himself with armed friends. In later years, anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at
5740-825: The Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. Countering these threats, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis —a defining incident of the Cold War —in 1962. Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere . Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of
5904-528: The Cold War raged between two superpowers: the United States, a capitalist liberal democracy , and the Soviet Union (USSR), a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the Communist Party . Expressing contempt for the US, Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR, establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states. Meeting with Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan , Castro agreed to provide
6068-799: The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighbourhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns, becoming a conduit for public complaints. By 1970, a third of the population would be involved in the CDR, and this would eventually rise to 80%. Despite the fear of a coup, Castro garnered support in New York City. On 18 February 1961, 400 people—mainly Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and college students—picketed in
6232-554: The Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) declined by 56%. Between 1989 and 1992, the termination of traditional trade partnerships with the Soviet bloc caused the total value of Cuba's exports to fall by 61% and imports to drop by approximately 72%. This period is known as the Special Period . Supporters of the embargo and many international economists believed that the dissolution of
6396-484: The Cuban Assets Control Regulations of 1963, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the Helms–Burton Act of 1996, and the Trade Sanction Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. The Helms-Burton Act further restricted U.S. citizens from doing commerce in or with Cuba, and mandated restrictions on giving public or private assistance to any successor government unless and until certain claims against
6560-485: The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, Kennedy imposed travel restrictions on February 8, 1963, and the Cuban Assets Control Regulations were issued on July 8, 1963, again under the Trading with the Enemy Act, in response to Cuba hosting Soviet nuclear weapons. These measures froze Cuban assets in the U.S. and consolidated existing restrictions. The restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba lapsed on March 19, 1977;
6724-650: The Cuban economy . It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history . The U.S. government first banned the sale of weaponry to Cuba via an arms embargo on March 14, 1958, during the U.S.-backed Fulgencio Batista regime. The Cuban Revolution saw to the nationalization of Cuba, high U.S. imports taxes, and forfeiture of U.S.-owned economic assets, including oil refineries, without compensation. The U.S. government retaliated in 1960 with an extended embargo on all exports to Cuba, with exception for food and medicine. Cuba held nuclear missiles for
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6888-512: The Fair Play for Cuba Committee . Back in Cuba, Castro feared a US-backed coup; in 1959 his regime spent $ 120 million on Soviet, French, and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cuba's armed forces. Fearing counter-revolutionary elements in the army, the government created a People's Militia to arm citizens favourable to the revolution, training at least 50,000 civilians in combat techniques. In September 1960, they created
7052-567: The Partido Ortodoxo , Raúl Chibás and Felipe Pazos , authoring the Sierra Maestra Manifesto, in which they demanded that a provisional civilian government be set up to implement moderate agrarian reform, industrialization, and a literacy campaign before holding multiparty elections. As Cuba's press was censored, Castro contacted foreign media to spread his message; he became a celebrity after being interviewed by Herbert Matthews ,
7216-578: The Soviet Union during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis , which led the U.S. to impose a full-scale blockade against the Island. The severity of the sanctions brought on by the U.S. has had the United Nations pass annual resolutions to suspend the embargo intermittently since 1992. The embargo is enforced mainly through the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 , the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,
7380-606: The University of Havana . Admitting he was "politically illiterate", Castro became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university. After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing US intervention in the Caribbean , he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of "honesty, decency and justice". Castro became critical of
7544-518: The "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie ", rather than the failings of corrupt politicians, and adopted the Marxist view that meaningful political change could only be brought about by proletariat revolution. Visiting Havana's poorest neighbourhoods, he became active in the student anti-racist campaign. In September 1949, Mirta gave birth to a son, Fidelito, so the couple moved to a larger Havana flat. Castro continued to put himself at risk, staying active in
7708-465: The 1960s. In its 2020 report to the United Nations, Cuba stated that the total cost to Cuba from the United States embargo is $ 144 billion since its inception. United States holds $ 6 billion worth of financial claims against the Cuban government. Between 1954 and 1959, trade between Cuba and the United States was at a higher level than what it was in 2003, according to a BA dissertation submitted to
7872-661: The Agricultural Reform confiscated land owned by many American businesses and Cuba continued to sponsor revolutionary movements in other parts of the Caribbean. By March 1960 the U.S. government began making plans to help overthrow the Castro administration. Congress did not want to lift the embargo. In April 1960, the U.S. Department of State issued a memorandum from Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Lester D. Mallory to his immediate superior, Roy Rubottom , acknowledging majority support within Cuba for
8036-742: The Bogotazo, 2009 In June 1947, Castro learned of a planned expedition to overthrow the right-wing government of Rafael Trujillo , a US ally, in the Dominican Republic . Being President of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic, Castro joined the expedition. The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops, mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans, and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947. Grau's government stopped
8200-550: The Castro administration, the fast spread of communism within the country, and the lack of an effective political opposition. The memorandum stated that the "only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship." It recommended a policy that would be "adroit and inconspicuous as possible" while aiming to deny "money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government." In May 1960
8364-456: The Castros, Che Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos . They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry, and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata, treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio, the local mayoral (land company overseer), who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castro's rebels. Osorio's execution aided
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#17328701461218528-607: The Cuba Solidarity Campaign. In July 2016, in the midst of a leadership challenge by Angela Eagle , and on the day that Theresa May was appointed leader of the Conservative Party, Corbyn addressed the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. He was criticised by those who "pointed out the Cuban regime's record on human rights was poor and included imprisoning trade unionists." Following the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro in November 2016, Corbyn said "Fidel Castro's death marks
8692-407: The Cuban administration responded by nationalizing all American businesses and most American privately owned properties on the island. Castro promised to separate Americans in Cuba from all of their possessions "down to the nails in their shoes". Cuba's nationalization laws required the government to compensate the owners of seized property, but compensation was to be made in Cuban bonds, an offer which
8856-507: The Cuban government began regularly and openly purchasing armaments from the Soviet Union , citing the U.S. arms embargo. In July 1960 the United States reduced the import quota of brown sugar from Cuba to 700,000 tons under the Sugar Act of 1948; and the Soviet Union responded by agreeing to purchase the sugar instead. In June 1960, Eisenhower's government refused to export oil to the island, leaving Cuba reliant on Soviet crude oil. Cuba and
9020-474: The Cuban government estimates that the embargo has cost the island itself $ 753.69 billion. The Cuba Policy Foundation (CPF) has provided more extreme data ; its estimates put the cost of the embargo at $ 4.84 billion per year while costing Cuba $ 685 million per year. A 2015 report in Al Jazeera estimated that the embargo had cost the Cuban economy $ 1.1 trillion in the 55 years since its inception, once inflation
9184-608: The Cuban government in 2024. President Biden authorized additional sanctions against Cuba during the 2024 Cuban protests which caused further diplomatic strain with Cuba's president Miguel Díaz-Canel . The embargo has been criticized for its effects on food, clean water, medicine, and other economic needs of the Cuban population. Criticism has come from both Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro, citizens and groups from within Cuba, and international organizations and leaders. U.S. diplomat Lester D. Mallory wrote an internal memo on April 6, 1960, arguing in favor of an embargo to "(make)
9348-486: The Cuban government nationalized the three American-owned oil refineries as well as Compañía Cubana de Electricidad , the Cuban Telephone Company, and 36 sugar mills. The refineries became part of the state-run company, Unión Cuba-Petróleo . This prompted the Eisenhower administration to launch the first trade embargo—a prohibition against selling all products to Cuba except food and medicine. In October 1960
9512-401: The Cuban government were met. The U.S. expanded the trade embargo by disallowing foreign U.S. corporate subsidiaries to trade with Cuba in 1999 and later authorized the sale of food and humanitarian products in 2000. Political scientist William M. LeoGrande summarized that, while the embargo against Cuba is 'the oldest and most comprehensive U.S. economic sanctions regime against any country in
9676-612: The Cuban revolution and state as "socialist". It aligned with the Soviet Union. On September 4, 1961, partly in response, Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act , a Cold War Act that prohibited aid to Cuba and authorized the President to impose a complete trade-embargo against Cuba. On January 21, 1962, Cuba was suspended by the Organization of American States (OAS), by a vote of 14 in favor, one (Cuba) against with six abstentions. Mexico and Ecuador, two abstaining members, argued that
9840-524: The Helms-Burton Act because it felt that the U.S. was dictating how other nations ought to conduct their trade and challenged it on that basis. The EU eventually dropped its challenge in favor of negotiating a solution. After the Cuban military shot down two airplanes operated by Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue) in 1996, killing three Americans and a U.S. resident, a bi-partisan coalition in
10004-654: The La Salle boarding school in Santiago, where he regularly misbehaved; he was next sent to the privately funded, Jesuit -run Dolores School in Santiago. In 1942, Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana . Although Castro took an interest in history, geography, and debate at Belén, he did not excel academically, instead devoting much of his time to playing sports. In 1945, Castro began studying law at
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#173287014612110168-405: The MR-26-7, he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control, with some dissenters labelling him a caudillo (dictator); he argued that a successful revolution could not be run by committee and required a strong leader. In 1955, bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent, with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest. Castro sent
10332-564: The OAS Charter did not authorize expulsion. Multilateral sanctions were imposed by OAS, led by the U.S., on July 26, 1964, but were later rescinded on July 29, 1975. Cuban relations with the OAS have since warmed and the suspension was lifted on June 3, 2009. Kennedy extended measures by executive order , first widening the scope of the trade restrictions on February 8, 1962 (announced on February 3 and again on March 23, 1962). These measures expanded
10496-419: The President might suspend its application. The waiver must be renewed every six months and traditionally was until U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019. In response to pressure from some American farmers and agribusiness , the embargo was relaxed by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act , which was passed by Congress in October 2000 and signed by President Bill Clinton. The relaxation allowed
10660-444: The Presidential Palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which he submitted. On 23 July, Castro resumed his premiership and appointed Marxist Osvaldo Dorticós as president. Castro's government emphasised social projects to improve Cuba's standard of living , often to the detriment of economic development. Major emphasis was placed on education, and during the first 30 months of Castro's government, more classrooms were opened than in
10824-479: The Soviet Union and the resultant economic crisis would lead to the downfall of Fidel Castro's government. However, Cuba's government instituted a campaign of macroeconomic adjustment and liberalization, which provided significant economic recovery. In November 1991 speech to the UN General Assembly, Cuban ambassador Ricardo Alarcón cited 27 recent cases of trade contracts interrupted by U.S. pressure. The British journal Cuba Business claimed that British Petroleum
10988-493: The Soviet Union signed a trade agreement according to which the Soviet Union would provide 900,000 tons of oil to Cuba. The United States viewed the agreement as a provocation, and successfully urged Esso , Texaco , and Shell to refuse to process Soviet crude in their Havana and Santiago de Cuba refineries. On June 29 and July 1, 1960, Cuba confiscated the refineries. The United States responded by canceling its quota of sugar purchases from Cuba. In turn, on August 30, 1960,
11152-410: The Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, with 65% of Cuba's total exports sent to the United States while American imports totaled 74% percent of Cuba's international purchases. After the formal implementation of the embargo and the passage of Proclamation 3355, there was a 95% decrease in Cuba's sugar quota, which canceled roughly 700,000 tons of the 3,119,655 tons previously allotted to
11316-434: The U.S. The key sponsor of the Cuban Democracy Act, Democrat Robert Torricelli , stated that the legislation would "wreck havoc on that island." Justification provided for these restrictions was that these companies were trafficking in stolen U.S. properties, and should, thus., be excluded from the United States. President Barack Obama tried to lift the embargo, but Congress did not allow it. The European Union resented
11480-576: The U.S. Congress approved the Helms-Burton Act. The Title III of this law also states that any non-U.S. company that "knowingly traffics in property in Cuba confiscated without compensation from a U.S. person" can be subjected to litigation and that company's leadership can be barred from entry into the United States. Sanctions may also be applied to non-U.S. companies trading with Cuba. This restriction also applies to maritime shipping, as ships docking at Cuban ports are not allowed to dock at U.S. ports for six months. This title includes waiver authority, so that
11644-513: The U.S. ambassador to Mexico John Negroponte travelled to meet two Mexican business men who had signed a textile deal with Cuba on October 17, 1992. Despite the representation, the deal went ahead and was eventually worth $ 500 million in foreign capital. All of this happened before the signing of the Cuban Democracy Act. The 1998 U.S. State Department report Zenith and Eclipse: A Comparative Look at Socio-Economic Conditions in Pre-Castro and Present Day Cuba attributed Cuba's economic penury not as
11808-854: The U.S. and $ 14.9 million imported to the U.S. from Cuba. The U.S. embargo has included travel restrictions for American tourists visiting the Island since 1961. The U.S. government maintains a Level II Travel Advisory Alert for the Island, cautioning citizens against legally traveling through Cuba due to crime. Federal law requires persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction to obtain a license to engage in any travel-related transactions pursuant to travel to, from, and within Cuba. Transactions related solely to tourist travel are not licensable. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) considers any visit of more than one day to be prima facie proof of violation. OFAC also holds that U.S. citizens may not receive goods or services for free from any Cuban national, eliminating any attempts to circumvent
11972-594: The UN General Assembly has passed a non-binding resolution every year, except for 2020, condemning the ongoing impact of the embargo and declaring it in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law. There was no voting on this issue in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Israel is the only country that routinely joins the U.S. in voting against the resolution. Other countries that voted against
12136-523: The UN General Assembly) Future students of American history will be scratching their heads about this case for decades to come. Our embargo and refusal to normalize diplomatic relations has nothing to do with communism. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War, with China since Nixon, and with Vietnam despite our bitter war there. No, Cuba
12300-419: The US and major corporations, Batista believed Castro to be no threat, and on 15 May 1955, the prisoners were released. Returning to Havana, Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences; the government closely monitored him, curtailing his activities. Now divorced, Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters, Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde, each conceiving him a child. Setting about strengthening
12464-816: The US ended its import quota of Cuban sugar, the country's primary export. In September 1960, Castro flew to New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations . Staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like Malcolm X . Castro had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor African-American population living there, thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him. He also met Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev , with
12628-485: The US press, argued that many were not fair trials . Castro responded that "revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction." Acclaimed by many across Latin America, he travelled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect Rómulo Betancourt , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil. Returning home, an argument between Castro and senior government figures broke out. He
12792-512: The US would no longer support him and felt he no longer could control the situation in Cuba. General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro, promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal ; however, Batista was warned, and fled into exile with over US$ 300 million on 31 December 1958. Cantillo entered Havana's Presidential Palace , proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president, and began appointing
12956-411: The US, causing an economic brain drain . Productivity decreased and the country's financial reserves were drained within two years. After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government, the pro-Castro printers' trade union disrupted editorial staff, and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a "clarification" written by the printers' union at the end of articles critical of
13120-483: The USSR with sugar, fruit, fibres, and hides in return for crude oil, fertilizers, industrial goods, and a $ 100 million loan. Cuba's government ordered the country's refineries—then controlled by the US corporations Shell and Esso —to process Soviet oil, but under US pressure they refused. Castro responded by expropriating and nationalizing the refineries. Retaliating, the US cancelled its import of Cuban sugar, provoking Castro to nationalize most US-owned assets on
13284-418: The United States imposed sanctions on Cuba's police force and on two of Cuba's leaders in response to violence related to the 2021 Cuban protests . Cuba attempted to embargo the U.S. by banning U.S. cash deposits at Cuban banks in 2021 but had to reverse the ban due to economic distress in 2023. The U.S. government eased select financial sanctions against companies that serve Cuban interests but have no link to
13448-463: The United States. A year later, Cuba's sugar quota was reduced to zero when President Eisenhower issued Proclamation 3383. This substantially affected Cuba's total exports, as Cuba was one of the world's leading sugar exporters at the time. In 1989, with the collapse of the Soviet bloc , Cuba witnessed its most devastating economic crises. Cuba's GDP plummeted 34% and trade between the nations apart from
13612-404: The armoury before reinforcements arrived. Supplied with new weaponry, Castro intended to spark a revolution among Oriente's impoverished cane cutters and promote further uprisings. Castro's plan emulated those of the 19th-century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks; Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader José Martí . Castro gathered 165 revolutionaries for
13776-503: The army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants, while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra, driving north to the rebel encampments. Despite their numerical and technological superiority, the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare, and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes. Many of Batista's soldiers defected to Castro's rebels, who also benefited from local popular support. In
13940-401: The army by revealing that they had tortured suspects, after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further, claiming he was too ill. The trial ended on 5 October, with the acquittal of most defendants; 55 were sentenced to prison terms of between 7 months and 13 years. Castro was sentenced on 16 October, during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under
14104-408: The army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded. Meanwhile, some rebels took over a civilian hospital; subsequently stormed by government soldiers, the rebels were rounded up, tortured and 22 were executed without trial. Accompanied by 19 comrades, Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north, where they could establish a guerrilla base. Responding to
14268-447: The attack, Batista's government proclaimed martial law , ordering a violent crackdown on dissent, and imposing strict media censorship. The government broadcast misinformation about the event, claiming that the rebels were communists who had killed hospital patients, although news and photographs of the army's use of torture and summary executions in Oriente soon spread, causing widespread public and some governmental disapproval. Over
14432-409: The cash for the Cuba trip through an American consulting firm called Seven Arrows Investment and Development Corp. Once the business consultants traveled to Cuba and incurred the expenses for the venture, Seven Arrows instructed senior officers with Trump's company—then called Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts—how to make it appear legal by linking it after the fact to a charitable effort. Since 1992,
14596-403: The city's politics and joining the 30 September Movement, which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo . The group's purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university; despite his promises, Prío had failed to control the situation, instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries. Castro volunteered to deliver
14760-524: The collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant, Lina Ruz González (1903–1963)—of Canarian ancestry—as his mistress and later second wife; together they had seven children, among them Fidel. At age six, Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba , before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight. Being baptized enabled Castro to attend
14924-465: The communist Popular Socialist Party (PSP), fearing it would frighten away political moderates, but kept in contact with PSP members like his brother Raúl . Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks , a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba, Oriente. Castro's militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July, seizing control and raiding
15088-621: The corruption and violence of President Ramón Grau 's government, delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that received coverage on the front page of several newspapers. In 1947, Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People (or Orthodox Party; Partido Ortodoxo ), founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás . A charismatic figure, Chibás advocated social justice, honest government, and political freedom, while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform. Though Chibás came third in
15252-551: The country's access to the U.S. financial system. Immediately following Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in January 2021, the State Department launched new political sanctions against Cuba's support of Venezuela and their president, Nicolás Maduro . That month the U.S. Treasury additionally sanctioned the Cuban Ministry of Interior for human rights abuse in Cuba . In July 2021, under President Joe Biden ,
15416-465: The crossing to take five days, and on the Granma ' s scheduled day of arrival, 30 November, MR-26-7 members under Frank País led an armed uprising in Santiago and Manzanillo. However, the Granma ' s journey ultimately lasted seven days, and with Castro and his men unable to provide reinforcements, País and his militants dispersed after two days of intermittent attacks. The Granma ran aground in
15580-484: The deal was later disallowed by Cuban authorities because one of the owners had recently obtained Cuban citizenship and factory ownership is illegal in Cuba. On January 12, 2017, Obama announced the immediate cessation of the wet feet, dry feet policy , eight days before his term ended . The Cuban government agreed to accept the return of Cuban nationals. Since 2014, anticipation of the end of this policy led to increased immigration from Cuba. On November 8, 2017, it
15744-415: The disabled and elderly. Castro used radio and television to develop a "dialogue with the people", posing questions and making provocative statements. His regime remained popular with workers, peasants, and students, who constituted the majority of the country's population, while opposition came primarily from the middle class; thousands of doctors, engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in
15908-415: The embargo contributed to malnutrition, poor water access, lack of access to medicine and other medical supplies and concluded that "a humanitarian catastrophe has been averted only because the Cuban government has maintained a high level of budgetary support for a health care system designed to deliver primary and preventative medicine to all its citizens." The AAWH found that travel restrictions embedded in
16072-468: The embargo have limited the amount of medical information that flows into Cuba from the United States. Since 2000, the embargo has explicitly excluded the acquisition of food and medicines. Writing in 2021, in the context of the 2021 Cuban protests, according to Pavel Vidal, a former Central Bank of Cuba economist who teaches at Javeriana University in Colombia , economic reforms in Cuba "do not depend on
16236-431: The embargo on the economic development of Cuba are likely negligible. The paper states that: "Under the real world of Castroism, however, the answer must be a terse one: none. The embargo has not harmed the Cuban economy. Cooperation between the United States and Cuba would have been impossible from the very beginning of the Revolution for legal, political, ideological, strategic, and economic reasons, not to mention others of
16400-411: The embargo range up to ten years in prison, $ 1 million in corporate fines, and $ 250,000 in individual fines; civil penalties up to $ 55,000 per violation. In September 2016, Newsweek reported that then future President Donald Trump's hotel company violated the embargo, spending a minimum of $ 68,000 for its 1998 foray into Cuba without U.S. government approval. With Trump's knowledge, executives funneled
16564-497: The embargo to epidemics of specific diseases, including neurological disorders and blindness caused by poor nutrition. An article written in 1997 suggests malnutrition and disease resulting from increased food and medicine prices have affected men and the elderly in particular, due to Cuba's rationing system which gives preferential treatment to women and children. In 1997, the American Association for World Health stated that
16728-489: The embargo to include all imports of products containing Cuban goods, even if the final products had been made or assembled outside Cuba. On August 3, 1962, the Foreign Assistance Act was amended to prohibit aid to any country that provides assistance to Cuba. On September 7, 1962, Kennedy formally expanded the Cuban embargo to include all Cuban trade, except for the non-subsidized sale of food and medicines. Following
16892-526: The embargo, and the embargo should be eliminated unilaterally, independently from reforms in Cuba. Both cause problems." A 2009 report by Amnesty International argues that the Cuban embargo has had an adverse effect on human rights in Cuba, and that "states must take into account the effects that [imposed] sanctions may have on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in the country affected". The U.S. sanctions on Cuba and their economic impacts can be traced back to when they were first implemented in
17056-483: The financing behind such goods is not always clear. The goods often come from third parties based in countries outside the U.S., even if the product being dealt originally has U.S. shareholders or investors. In April 2009, President Barack Obama first attempted to warm relations by easing the U.S. travel ban, allowing Cuban-Americans to travel freely to Cuba. He later extended this easing in January 2011 to certain students and religious missionaries. Ana Cecilia became
17220-466: The first officially approved ship to sail in July 2012 from Miami to Cuba, carrying medicine and personal hygiene goods. Two years later, in 2014, the Obama administration announced its intention to formally re-establish relations with Cuba. The two nations completed a prisoner exchange, with Cuba releasing an unnamed American intelligence officer and Alan Gross , a U.S. contractor who had spent five years in
17384-456: The following days, the rebels were rounded up; some were executed and others—including Castro—transported to a prison north of Santiago. Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone, the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement, putting 122 defendants on trial on 21 September at the Palace of Justice, Santiago. Acting as his own defence counsel, Castro cited Martí as
17548-575: The general tone for the debates and speeches. Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly, speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America. Subsequently, visited by Polish first secretary Władysław Gomułka , Bulgarian first secretary Todor Zhivkov , Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru , Castro also received an evening's reception from
17712-504: The governing Conservatives —backed by the army—and leftist Liberals . Castro joined the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station, but subsequent police investigations concluded that he had not been involved in any killings. In April 1948, the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogotá, leading to protests, which Castro joined. Returning to Cuba, Castro became
17876-508: The government. Castro's government arrested hundreds of counter-revolutionaries , many of whom were subjected to solitary confinement, rough treatment, and threatening behaviour. Militant anti-Castro groups, funded by exiles, the CIA, and the Dominican government, undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cuba's mountains, leading to the six-year Escambray Rebellion . At the time, 1960,
18040-402: The greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages , to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government". Some medical scholars, outside Cuba, have linked the embargo to shortages of medical supplies and soap which have resulted in a series of medical crises and heightened levels of infectious diseases. Medical scholars have also linked
18204-542: The intellectual author of the attack and convinced the three judges to overrule the army's decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court, proceeding to argue that the charge with which they were accused—of "organizing an uprising of armed persons against the Constitutional Powers of the State"—was incorrect, for they had risen up against Batista, who had seized power in an unconstitutional manner. The trial embarrassed
18368-447: The invasion under US pressure, although Castro and many of his comrades evaded arrest. Returning to Havana, Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards. The protests, accompanied by a crackdown on those considered communists, led to violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948, in which Castro was badly beaten. At this point, his public speeches took on
18532-551: The island, including banks and sugar mills. Relations between Cuba and the US were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel, the La Coubre , in Havana harbour in March 1960. The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium, and the cause of the explosion was never determined, but Castro publicly insinuated that the US government was guilty of sabotage. He ended this speech with " ¡Patria o Muerte! " ("Fatherland or Death"),
18696-499: The leaders of the two countries in over 50 years. In May 2015, several U.S. companies reported they had been granted licenses to establish ferry travel between Florida and Cuba, with the U.S. Treasury Department confirming. On May 29, 2015, the U.S. removed Cuba from its designated list of state sponsors of terrorism on May 29, 2015, later re-adding it on January 12, 2021. U.S. banks then were temporarily allowed to open accredited accounts in Cuban banks. Diplomatic connectivity
18860-490: The legislation during the 2000s. U.S. nationals have circumvented the ban by traveling to Cuba from a different country, such as Mexico, The Bahamas , Canada , or Costa Rica . The practice opens U.S. citizens to a risk of prosecution and fines by the U.S. government if discovered. In 2006, the U.S. announced the creation of a task force that will more aggressively pursue violations of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, with severe penalties. Criminal penalties for violating
19024-439: The mission, ordering his troops not to cause bloodshed unless they met armed resistance. The attack took place on 26 July 1953, but ran into trouble; 3 of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there. Reaching the barracks, the alarm was raised, with most of the rebels pinned down by machine gun fire. Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat. The rebels suffered 6 fatalities and 15 other casualties, whilst
19188-470: The new administration a direct democracy , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will. As a result, he rejected the need for elections, claiming that representative democratic systems served the interests of socio-economic elites. US Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule, with a one-party state, government control of trade unions, suppression of civil liberties, and
19352-596: The new government. Furious, Castro ended the ceasefire, and ordered Cantillo's arrest by sympathetic figures in the army. Accompanying celebrations at news of Batista's downfall on 1 January 1959, Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism. Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January, while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence. Heading toward Havana, he greeted cheering crowds at every town, giving press conferences and interviews. Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959. At Castro's command,
19516-564: The passing of a huge figure of modern history, national independence and 20th century socialism." Other supporters include: The following trade unions are affiliated to the campaign: United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba has prevented U.S. businesses from conducting trade or commerce with Cuban interests since 1958. Modern diplomatic relations are cold , stemming from historic conflict and divergent political ideologies. U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba are comprehensive and impact all sectors of
19680-594: The politically moderate lawyer Manuel Urrutia Lleó was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced (falsely) that Urrutia had been selected by "popular election". Most of Urrutia's cabinet were MR-26-7 members. Entering Havana, Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency, setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel . Castro exercised
19844-724: The power to lead...we have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction". Proceeding to Canada, Trinidad, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires , unsuccessfully proposing a $ 30 billion US-funded " Marshall Plan " for Latin America. In May 1959, Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform , setting a cap for landholdings to 993 acres (402 ha) per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership. Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up; popular among
20008-463: The present regulation, effective June 30, 2004, being the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 515). The current regulation does not prohibit travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba per se , but it makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to have transactions (spend money or receive gifts) in Cuba under most circumstances without a U.S. government Office of Foreign Assets Control issued license. Since even paying unavoidable airfare ticket taxes into
20172-624: The press and the suppression of internal dissent. Abroad, Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups, backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile , Nicaragua , and Grenada , as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur , Ogaden , and Angolan Civil War . These actions, coupled with Castro's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cuban medical internationalism , increased Cuba's profile on
20336-445: The press put the death toll at 20,000, but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants. More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000. In response to popular uproar, which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice, Castro helped to set up many trials, resulting in hundreds of executions. Although popular domestically, critics—in particular
20500-483: The previous 30 years. The Cuban primary education system offered a work-study program, with half of the time spent in the classroom, and the other half in a productive activity. Health care was nationalized and expanded, with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid. Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented, and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically. A third part of this social program
20664-610: The rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castro's anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States' power over Cuba. The protesters held up signs that read, "Mr. Kennedy, Cuba is Not For Sale.", " Viva Fidel Castro!" and "Down With Yankee Imperialism!". Around 200 policemen were on the scene, but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castro's socialist movement. Some Americans disagreed with President John F. Kennedy 's decision to ban trade with Cuba, and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics. Castro proclaimed
20828-604: The rebels in gaining the trust of locals, although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries. As trust grew, some locals joined the rebels, although most new recruits came from urban areas. With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200, in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns, commanded by himself, his brother, and Guevara. The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation, sending supplies to Castro, and on 16 February 1957, he met with other senior members to discuss tactics; here he met Celia Sánchez , who would become
20992-427: The regime. Castro formed a group called "The Movement" which operated along a clandestine cell system , publishing underground newspaper El Acusador ( The Accuser ), while arming and training anti-Batista recruits. From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive, gaining around 1,200 members in a year, the majority from Havana's poorer districts. Although a revolutionary socialist , Castro avoided an alliance with
21156-435: The regulation based on that premise. Spurred by a burgeoning interest in the assumed untapped product demand in Cuba, a growing number of free-marketers in Congress, backed by Western and Great Plains lawmakers who represent agribusiness, have tried each year since 2000 to water down or lift regulations preventing Americans from traveling to Cuba. President George W. Bush threatened to veto such efforts which stalled
21320-552: The regulation was renewable every six months, but President Jimmy Carter did not renew it and the regulation on spending U.S. dollars in Cuba was lifted shortly afterwards. President Ronald Reagan reinstated the trade embargo on April 19, 1982, though it was now only restricted to business and tourist travel and did not apply to travel by U.S. government officials, employees of news or film making organizations, persons engaging in professional research, or persons visiting their close relatives. This has been modified subsequently with
21484-410: The resolution in the past include Romania in 1992, Albania and Paraguay in 1993, Uzbekistan from 1995 to 1997, Marshall Islands from 2000 to 2007, Palau from 2004 to 2009 then once in 2012, and Brazil in 2019. 187 countries voted in favor of the resolution in 2024, with only the United States and Israel voting against it and Moldova abstaining. (The 19th resolution of the 47th session of
21648-541: The revolution, would be postponed, so that the provisional government could focus on domestic reform. Castro announced this electoral delay with the slogan: " revolution first, elections later ". Later in April, he visited the US on a charm offensive where President Dwight D. Eisenhower would not meet with him, but instead sent Vice President Richard Nixon , whom Castro instantly disliked. After meeting Castro, Nixon described him to Eisenhower: "The one fact we can be sure of
21812-554: The sale of agricultural goods and medicine to Cuba for humanitarian reasons. Although Cuba initially declined to engage in such trade (having even refused U.S. food aid in the past, seeing it as a half-measure serving U.S. interests), the Cuban government began to allow the purchase of food from the U.S. as a result of Hurricane Michelle in November 2001. In some tourist spots across the island, American brands such as Coca-Cola can be purchased. Ford tankers refuel planes in airports and some computers use Microsoft software. The origin of
21976-506: The sale of weapons to Latin-American countries which had signed the 1947 Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) as long as the weapons were not used for hostile purposes. The arms embargo had more of an impact on Batista than on the rebels. After the Castro socialist government came to power on January 1, 1959, relations were initially friendly between Castro and the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration but became strained after
22140-506: The son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana . After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia , he planned the overthrow of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista , launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. After a year's imprisonment, Castro travelled to Mexico where he formed
22304-462: The student's support for indiscriminate assassination. After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma , on 25 November 1956, Castro set sail from Tuxpan , Veracruz, with 81 armed revolutionaries. The 1,900-kilometre (1,200 mi) crossing to Cuba was harsh, with food running low and many suffering seasickness . At some points, they had to bail water caused by a leak, and at another, a man fell overboard, delaying their journey. The plan had been for
22468-451: The summer of 1959, Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners. He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled. He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement, over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities. Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being
22632-495: The summer, the MR-26-7 went on the offensive, pushing the army out of the mountains, with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago. By November, Castro's forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas, and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines, severely disadvantaging Batista. The US instructed Cantillo to oust Batista due to fears in Washington that Castro
22796-404: The time, but these accusations remain unproven. The American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote that Castro "began his career as a revolutionary with no ideology at all: he was a student politician turned street fighter turned guerrilla, a voracious reader, an interminable speaker, and a pretty good baseball player". I joined the people; I grabbed a rifle in a police station that collapsed when it
22960-524: The title of History Will Absolve Me . Castro was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison ( Presidio Modelo ), a relatively comfortable and modern institution on the Isla de Pinos . Imprisoned with 25 comrades, Castro renamed his group the " 26th of July Movement " (MR-26-7) in memory of the Moncada attack's date, and formed a school for prisoners. He read widely, enjoying
23124-516: The two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem. Relations between Castro and Khrushchev were warm; they led the applause to one another's speeches at the General Assembly. The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly rancorous one with Khrushchev famously banging his shoe against his desk to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong , which set
23288-558: The working class, it alienated the richer landowners, including Castro's own mother, whose farmlands were taken. Within a year, Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 per cent of the nation's wealth, declaring that "the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters." Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry, introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit, advertising Cuba as
23452-461: The works of Marx, Lenin, and Martí but also reading books by Freud , Kant , Shakespeare , Munthe , Maugham , and Dostoyevsky , analysing them within a Marxist framework. Corresponding with supporters, he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me . Initially permitted a relative amount of freedom within the prison, he was locked up in solitary confinement after inmates sang anti-Batista songs on
23616-459: The world ... [it] has never been effective at achieving its principal purpose: forcing Cuba's revolutionary regime out of power or bending it to Washington's will.' The United States imposed an arms embargo on Cuba on March 14, 1958, during the armed conflict of 1953-1959 between rebels led by Fidel Castro and the Fulgencio Batista régime. Arms sales violated U.S. policy which had permitted
23780-572: The world stage. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the " Special Period ", embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. In the 2000s, Castro forged alliances in the Latin American " pink tide "—namely with Hugo Chávez 's Venezuela—and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006, Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro, who
23944-530: Was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist , he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state ; industry and business were nationalized , and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society. Born in Birán ,
24108-481: Was a communist to the press, he began clandestinely meeting members of the PSP to discuss the creation of a socialist state. We are not executing innocent people or political opponents. We are executing murderers and they deserve it. – Castro's response to his critics regarding the mass executions, 1959 In suppressing the revolution, Batista's government had killed thousands of Cubans; Castro and influential sectors of
24272-529: Was a socialist, which were exacerbated by the association between nationalist and communist movements in Latin America and the links between the Cold War and decolonization. By this time the great majority of Cuban people had turned against the Batista regime. Ambassador to Cuba, E. T. Smith, who felt the whole CIA mission had become too close to the MR-26-7 movement, personally went to Batista and informed him that
24436-524: Was announced that President Trump's administration had enacted new rules which would re-enforce the business and travel restrictions which were loosened by the Obama administration and would go into effect on November 9. In 2019, ExxonMobil , the largest American energy producer, sued the Cuban government for their theft of U.S. oil assets in the 1960s. In September 2019, the U.S. tightened restrictions on Cuba by limiting U.S. remittances to Cuba and further closing
24600-467: Was arrested and charged for violent conduct, but the magistrate dismissed the charges. His hopes for Cuba still centered on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo , and he was present at Chibás' politically motivated suicide in 1951. Seeing himself as Chibás' heir, Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections, though senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him. He
24764-459: Was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008. The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries, Castro polarized world opinion. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary government advanced economic and social justice while securing Cuba's independence from American hegemony . His critics view him as
24928-409: Was infuriated that the government had left thousands unemployed by closing down casinos and brothels. As a result, Prime Minister José Miró Cardona resigned, going into exile in the US and joining the anti-Castro movement. On 16 February 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba . On April 9, Castro announced that the elections, which the 26th of July Movement promised would occur after
25092-544: Was instead nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives by party members in Havana's poorest districts and began campaigning. The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election. During his campaign, Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista , the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party . Batista offered him a place in his administration if he
25256-635: Was instead won by his Partido Auténtico ' s new candidate, Carlos Prío Socarrás . Prío faced widespread protests when members of the MSR, now allied to the police force, assassinated Justo Fuentes, a socialist friend of Castro. In response, Prío agreed to quell the gangs, but found them too powerful to control. Castro had moved further to the left, influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin . He came to interpret Cuba's problems as an integral part of capitalist society, or
25420-460: Was joined by Frank Sturgis who offered to train Castro's troops in guerrilla warfare. Castro accepted the offer, but he also had an immediate need for guns and ammunition, so Sturgis became a gunrunner. Sturgis purchased boatloads of weapons and ammunition from Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) weapons expert Samuel Cummings' International Armament Corporation in Alexandria, Virginia. Sturgis opened
25584-479: Was like a blindfolded man in a forest, who doesn't even know where north or south is. If you don't eventually come to truly understand the history of the class struggle , or at least have a clear idea that society is divided between the rich and the poor, and that some people subjugate and exploit other people, you're lost in a forest, not knowing anything. – Fidel Castro on discovering Marxism, 2009 That same year, Grau decided not to stand for re-election, which
25748-444: Was not taken seriously by the United States. Payments pursuant to the Cuban bonds were to be paid from the sale of Cuban sugar to the United States, but the United States had just canceled its purchases of Cuban sugar. No compensation was paid. Other countries which had their assets nationalised, including Switzerland, Canada, Spain, and France, were more agreeable to Castro’s terms, seemingly convinced that they would not be able to get
25912-446: Was officially established on July 20, 2015. On September 21, 2015, the U.S. Commerce and Treasury Departments increased travel licenses, amended civil aviation and commercial passenger aircraft regulations, and normalized import-export license requirements for Cuba. In February 2016, the U.S. agreed to allow two American men to build a $ 5-$ 10 million tractor factory. It would have been the first factory owned by Americans in decades, but
26076-473: Was pure politics. Though it started out to be a measure of an administration's resistance to Castro's politics, it very soon became a straitjacket whereby first-generation Cuban-Americans wielded inordinate political power over both parties and constructed a veto over rational, mature diplomacy. — Gary Hart , former U.S. Senator , March 2011 On May 1, 2009, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez , while speaking about his meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at
26240-411: Was rushed by a crowd. I witnessed the spectacle of a totally spontaneous revolution ... [T]hat experience led me to identify myself even more with the cause of the people. My still incipient Marxist ideas had nothing to do with our conduct—it was a spontaneous reaction on our part, as young people with Martí-an , anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist and pro-democratic ideas. – Fidel Castro on
26404-461: Was seemingly dissuaded by U.S. authorities from investing in offshore oil exploration in Cuba despite being initially keenly interested. The Petroleum economist claimed in September 1992 that the U.S. State Department vigorously discouraged firms like Royal Dutch Shell and Clyde Petroleum from investing in Cuba; this pressure did not work in all cases. According to the Mexican newspaper El Financiero ,
26568-452: Was successful; although both opposed Prío's administration, their meeting never got beyond polite generalities. On 10 March 1952, Batista seized power in a military coup, with Prío fleeing to Mexico. Declaring himself president, Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections, describing his new system as "disciplined democracy"; Castro was deprived of being elected in his run for office by Batista's move, and like many others, considered it
26732-437: Was the improvement of infrastructure. Within the first six months of Castro's government, 1,000 km (600 mi) of roads were built across the island, while $ 300 million was spent on water and sanitation projects. Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness, while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for
26896-515: Was working as a journalist and photographer for " Agencia Latina de Noticias ". Fidel liked him, later describing him as "a more advanced revolutionary than I was". Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo , who agreed to teach Castro's rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare . Requiring funding, Castro toured the US in search of wealthy sympathizers, there being monitored by Batista's agents, who allegedly orchestrated
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