L'histoire des relations entre les États-Unis et Cuba, 1800-1980-s

History of US-Cuba Relations, 1800s to 1980s

The United States and Cuba have not always been at odds. In the late 1800s, the United States was purchasing 87% of Cuba's exports and had control over its sugar industry.[30] In the 1950s, Havana's resorts and casinos were popular destinations for American tourists and celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Ernest Hemingway. [31] By Jan. 1, 1959, however, revolutionary Fidel Castro had overthrown the US-backed President Batista and established Cuba as the first Communist state in the Western Hemisphere.[32] From 1959 to 1960, Castro seized $1.8 billion of US assets in Cuba, making it the largest uncompensated taking of American property by a foreign government in US history. [85] The US government was also concerned about the threat posed by having a new Soviet ally so close to America's shores. [30] On Oct. 19, 1960, President Eisenhower signed a partial embargo on exports to Cub. [70, 71]Eisenhower ended diplomatic relations with Cuba and closed the US embassy in Havana on Jan. 3, 1961. [83]

President Kennedy approved a 1961 plan to train and arm Cuban exiles trying to overthrow Castro's communist regime, but the Apr. 17, 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion failed when the Cuban military defeated the outnumbered US-backed forces. [33] The situation became more dire when a US spy plane observed the Soviet Union shipping nuclear missiles to Cuba.

On Feb. 3, 1962, President Kennedy signed Proclamation 3447 (effective date Feb. 7, 1962) to declare "an embargo upon all trade between the United States and Cuba." [35] [38]

The Cuban Missile Crisis, period of negotiations from Oct. 15-28, 1962, eventually ended in an agreement for the USSR to remove its weapons from Cuba. [34]

On Feb. 8, 1963, the United States prohibited travel to Cuba [37] and in July of that year the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) [36] were issued as a comprehensive economic sanction outlawing financial transactions with Cuba. [4]The regulations also prohibit the purchase or importation of any merchandise of Cuban origin, with the exception of "information or information materials" (such as publications, recorded music, and certain artwork). [69]

In 1977, US President Jimmy Carter showed signs of attempting to thaw relations by opening the US Interests Section in Havana [39] and authorizing secret talks wtih Cuba. [40] [41]

The US State Department added Cuba to the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in 1982, reportedly because of its support for communist rebels in Africa and Latin America. Syria, Iran, and Sudan are the other three countries on the list. [9] [42]

Congressional and Presidential Changes to US Policy, 1990s to 2000s

The 1992 Cuban Democracy Act and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (aka

Helms-Burton Act) strengthened the economic embargo. [6, 49] The bills prohibited US foreign subsidiaries (a company controlled by a company based in another country) from trading with Cuba, restricted remittances (money sent as a gift) to prevent the Cuban government from accessing US currency, and allowed sanctions against companies that invested in property seized from Americans during the communist revolution. [48] [50] Despite the embargo, Cuba managed to keep its economy afloat with $3 billion in annual aid from the USSR. [43, 44]When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, so did its financial assistance to Cuba, which caused the economy in the island nation to decline by

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