Relations Between Cuba and the United States

What are the US and Cuba relations?

By: Mariah Hall, Angelica Becker, Cassie Murphey, Dominic Rubio, and Becky Fisk

Cuba and the United States have a had a rocky relationship, to put it lightly, for many years. This began when Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro began taxing American products heavily and then proceeded to let the Soviet Union build a missile bases in Cuba while they were at war with the U.S. The United States and Cuba had completely severed diplomatic relations in 1961. After decades of embargos and isolation, Cuba still has not been able to return to its former prosperity. President Obama is trying to change this situation. On April 11, 2015, President Obama met Raul Castro, brother of former dictator Fidel, at the summit of the Americas in Panama. This was the first meeting between the United States and Cuban leaders since 1961. Later in March of 2016, Obama and his family went to Cuba. This is the first time a President of the United States has stepped on Cuban soil during Presidency since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. Obama has said that "Neither the American nor the Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that's rooted in events that took place before most of us were born." Obama believes that it is time to try something new, and only time will tell if he’s right.

Raul Castro and Barack Obama ahead of meeting at U.N. Headquarters in New York City.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Obama-Makes-It-Official-Hes-Going-to-Cuba-20160218-0001.html

What made the relations turn sour?

The governments of the United States and Cuba began interacting in the 1850s, with pro-slavery Americans pushing for either the purchase or forced conquest of Cuba from Spain, while anti-slavery sentiments advocated against this form of imperialism. These opposing interests were once again reignited with the Spanish American War, in which the U.S. backed a Cuban uprising against the Spanish that was successful. Technically, Cuba was an independent state, but the U.S. treated it as essentially a protectorate. This meant that the U.S. still had a hand in Cuban foreign policy and the right to interfere in their affairs as outlines by the Platt amendment. These interventions, often military in practice, happened multiple times in the subsequent decades, both in 1906 and 1917, usually in order to safeguard their economic interest in sugar imports  under the fronts of needing to solve “political crises.” In 1933, a Cuban uprising led the establishment of a democracy, despite no support from the U.S., who stayed neutral in the conflict. However, this progress was halted by Fulgencio Batista, an authoritarian dictator who seized power through a coup in 1952, revoking the Constitution and oppressing the people.

However, the real narrative of the tumultous tensions between the U.S. and Cuba begins in 1959. This was the year that Fidel Castro, along with a band of radicalized peasants and Che Guevara overthrew the government of General Fulgencio Batista. During this time, Castro had decidedly nationalist tendencies, which were not necessarily Communist. During the early years of his consolidation of power, the U.S. government generally supported Castro as a welcome relief from the corrupt Batista regime. However, later in 1960, the United States and Cuba were in conflict over trade agreements and tariffs. To remedy this issue, Eisenhower tried to limit trade by only allowing food and medical supplies as exports. However, Castro decided that this was insufficient, and thus began to seek out trade with the Soviet Union. Because of the extreme animosity and polarization of the Cold War, the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba fell apart, and officially ended in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy issued a permanent trade embargo. With this embargo, the U.S. officially cemented themselves against Cuba. In the bipolar Cold War, this pushed the Cubans in full alliance with the Soviets.

Cubans lining up outside of the United States embassy in Cuba hoping to get visas. This was 48 hours before the US shutdown the embassy and severed relations with Cuba.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ap-us-breaks-relations-cuba-015809158.html?ref=gs

Why does this matter?

The governments of the United States and Cuba began interacting in the 1850s, with pro-slavery Americans pushing for either the purchase or forced conquest of Cuba from Spain, while anti-slavery sentiments advocated against this form of imperialism. These opposing interests were once again reignited with the Spanish American War, in which the U.S. backed a Cuban uprising against the Spanish that was successful. Technically, Cuba was an independent state, but the U.S. treated it as essentially a protectorate. This meant that the U.S. still had a hand in Cuban foreign policy and the right to interfere in their affairs as outlined by the Platt amendment. These interventions, often military in practice, happened multiple times in the subsequent decades, both in 1906 and 1917, usually in order to safeguard their economic interest in sugar imports  under the fronts of needing to solve “political crises.” In 1933, a Cuban uprising led the establishment of a democracy, despite no support from the U.S., who stayed neutral in the conflict. However, this progress was halted by Fulgencio Batista, an authoritarian dictator who seized power through a coup in 1952, revoking the Constitution and oppressing the people.  

However, the real narrative of the tumultuous tensions between the U.S. and Cuba begins in 1959. This was the year that Fidel Castro, along with a band of radicalized peasants and Che Guevara overthrew the government of General Fulgencio Batista. During this time, Castro had decidedly nationalist tendencies, which were not necessarily Communist. During the early years of his consolidation of power, the U.S. government generally supported Castro as a welcome relief from the corrupt Batista regime. However, later in 1960, the United States and Cuba were in conflict over trade agreements and tariffs. To remedy this issue, Eisenhower tried to limit trade by only allowing food and medical supplies as exports. However, Castro decided that this was insufficient, and thus began to seek out trade with the Soviet Union. Because of the extreme animosity and polarization of the Cold War, the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba fell apart, and officially ended in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy issued a permanent trade embargo. With this embargo, the U.S. officially cemented themselves against Cuba. In the bipolar Cold War, this pushed the Cubans in full alliance with the Soviets.

After a while, things settled down, but in the 1980s, new developments brought new conflict. Castro began allowing people to leave the island for the first time, prompting mass migration to Florida, where a growing population of Cuban dissidents began to extend an influence on American politics. Although Florida had accepted its fair share of Cuban refugees and exiles prior to Castro’s change of heart, this demographic surge was transformative for establishing a political platform to advocate the views of the dissidents. These generation that followed would be known as ABCs, or American-Born Cubans. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations were still unable to be normalized despite agreement from both Clinton and Castro. The public sentiment, especially that of older Cuban Americans, was staunchly anti-Castro, while ABCs still hoped to someday return home. After Cuba’s shooting of two private planes chartered by Cuban-American activists, Clinton ended attempts to normalize relations. When Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, assumed control in 2008, he seemed to have provided a more progressive mindset in Cuba, which led to increased possibilities for normalizing of relations. After meetings between Pope Francis, Raul Castro, and Obama in 2013, these possibilities started to become realized.

Despite the complicated history between the U.S. and Cuba, or perhaps because of it, Cuba remains relevant today. The normalization of the relations between the two countries reflects the continuing fall of Cold War Era hostilities. This hostility that existed between the two countries, especially the strengthening of those tensions that happened after the Cuban Missile Crisis, served as a prominent reminder of Cold War troubles. The normalization of relations reflects the desire to reopen trade, and thus essentially bury the hatchet between the two countries. Moreover, the fact that Cuba is now more open to the influences of global commerce, including tourism, the state will prove to be a fascinating case study in the effects of isolation in a globalized world. Because of Cuba’s isolation from global oil and natural gas, they were forced into developing more sustainable and home-grown methods of energy. While their comparative environmental sustainability is in part due to lower standards of living, it stills serves as an interesting model for the impact of globalization on the environment. With the normalization of U.S./Cuba relations, the state will prove to serve as an interesting yardstick to compare the rest of the world with going forward.

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