Lift the Cuban Embargo

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Lift the Cuban Embargo

In 1959, revolutionaries nationalized Cuba’s wealth and did not compensate U.S. companies for our efforts to fight against the rebels. They did, however, repay corporations from nations that did not fight. Because of this seizure of our property, the Cuban embargo was put into action. In fact, Cuba is the only country in the western

hemisphere which the U.S. government has persistently and actively used a full economic embargo as a dominant policy tool in an attempt to compel a democratic transformation.

The trade embargo, issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, was created in response to Fidel Castro’s expropriation of American assets and his decision to export Marxist-Leninist revolutions to Third World countries. In late 1959, Fidel Castro, Prime minister of Cuba, approached the USSR for support. In May 1960, Castro reestablished diplomatic ties with the USSR, and made an agreement to import Soviet oil. In June, the Cuban government took over foreign-owned petroleum refineries that refused to process Soviet oil. Fidel Castro allowed Cuba to serve as a base for Soviet intelligence operations and allowed Soviet naval vessels to have port access rights at the height of the Cold War. Soon after Cuba established diplomatic ties with the U.S.S.R., the U.S.

government outlawed the purchase of Cuban sugar, the mainstay of Cuba's economy. Cuba then assumed control of all U.S. property on the island and established a military alliance with the USSR. In January 1961 the United States broke diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Since the fall of the U.S.S.R. and its communist system, Cuba has not posed a significant military threat to the United States or to other co...

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... Cited

Clarke, Philip. “Cuba’s Newest Revolution Bloodless but Plenty Bewildering as New President Breaks Army Grip, Aims at Democracy.” The Washington Post. 22 July. 1945: B3. ProQuest. James Madison University library. 16 September 2003

Griswold, Daniel T. “No: The embargo harms Cubans and gives Castro an excuse for the policy failures of his regime.” 4 September 2003

<http://www.insightmag.com/global_user_elements/printpage.cfm?storyid=253632>

Lukas, Aaron. “It’s Time, Finally, to End the Cuban Embargo.” 4 September 2003

<http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/articles/al-12-14-01.htm>.

Remer, Terra Lawson. “Lift the Cuban embargo.” 4 September 2003

<http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxvii/1999.01.22/opinion/p10remer.html>.

United States. Congress. House. Cuba. 105th Congress., 2nd session. Rept. 50. 2001.

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