Cuban Embargo
The island nation of Cuba is located just ninety miles off the coast of Florida and is home to 11 million people and it has one of the few remaining communist regimes in the world. Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, came to power in 1959 and immediately instituted a communist program that brought sweeping economic and social changes to the country. Castro allied his government with the Soviet Union and seized and nationalized billions of dollars of American property. U.S. relations with Cuba have been strained ever since; a trade embargo against Cuba was imposed in 1960 and is still in place today. Despite severe economic suffering and increasing isolation from the world community, Castro remains committed to communism. (Cuban History)
The United States and Cuba share a long history of mutual mistrust and suspicion. All aspects of U.S. policy with Cuba, such as the current trade embargo, immigration practices, and most recently the possibility of a free exchange by members of the media, create heated debates across the United States. While most Americans agree that the ultimate goals should be to encourage Castro's resignation and promote a smooth transition to democracy experts disagree about how the U.S. government should accomplish these goals. Some believe that the country's current policy toward Cuba is outdated in its Cold War approach and needs to be rebuilt. (Cuban History)
During the first half of the 20th century, Cuba resembled a U.S. colony; many wealthy Americans vacationed on Cuba's beaches, but the majority of the island's citizens lived in extreme poverty. The United States supported the pro-American dictator Fulgencio Batista, who ruled for almost twenty years before being overthrown by Fidel Castro's communist revolution in 1959. Directly following Castro's rise to power, President Dwight Eisenhower first enacted America's trade embargo against Cuba. Eisenhower cut off economic relations with the country in response to Castro's taking away...
Please login to view the full essay...