The Cigar and a Pen

One Night in 1962, President John F. Kennedy called for his Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger. Kennedy ordered Salinger to go out and find as many Petit Upmanns, which was a Cuban cigar that the president smoked, as he could and bring them back to him. A few days later Salinger came back to the White House with 1200 Petit Upmanns. Kennedy thanked Salinger, took a cigar, lit it up, then took out a long piece of paper from his desk and quickly signed it. That paper was a decree banning all Cuban products from American soil, and ever since then America has had an embargo on the island less than eighty miles from the southern tip of Florida.

America’s stance on Cuban trade has mostly been the same since 1962. Politician are scared that any hint of an pro-Cuban agenda can cause the right to label them as “unpatriotic” and the Cuban-Americans to be pure livid. It was much easier to find reasons to hate Cuba than forgive them, which was exactly what most politicians did. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan designated the Cuban government as a terrorism sponsor, which entailed heavy economic sanctions to be made. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush tightens sanctions on Cuba to give an impression that he is still tough on communism after the Soviet Collapse. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signs the Helms-Burton Act which tightens the US embargo after Cuba accidently shot down two civilian planes flying nearby. Only a politician with nothing to lose would come even close to lifting the embargo, and that politician was Barack Obama. President Obama’s term was almost over and the Cuban government was willing to talk. There was major progress being made; diplomatic ties were restored, Cuba was taken off the Terrorism Sponsor list, and even a embassies were opened. However, it was too little too late. President Trump entered office and dismantled most Cuban American relations that have been built during the prior years by reinstating numerous travel and business restrictions on Cuba.

But Why In The First Place…

American policy makers hoped that the embargo would create a crisis in Cuba’s economy that the cuban government could not handle. The policy makers hoped that this crisis cause a political uprising to occur inside Cuba that would kick out the communist leaders and reinstate a democratic government that would be best friends with the American government. Today, the embargo has done everything that its creators wanted it to do except one thing; for it to work. After fifty years of the embargo being in place, absolutely nothing has changed. The same old government was in place, the same old leader was in power, and the same old human rights abuses was being carried out.

One reason for the embargo not working was that it did not cause the full effect it intended on the Cuban economy. This is due to the Cuban government implemented policies to make sure the economy would not fully collapse. One such plan was to make a deal with the Venezuelans, which gave them oil at a large discount in exchange for a technological partnership. Cuba has actually seen a fair amount of economic growth since the embargo, which means that the government is getting better at dealing with a economy without American trade. However, another reason for the embargo failing was the adaptation of the Cuban people and culture to the lack of trade with most of the world. One thing that comes to mind one someone thinks of Cuba is the old retro cars that they have. Most of the cars that are running on the road are old American cars from before Cuba was a communist state or cars made by the Soviet Union. The only reason they still have those cars is because there are unable to get new cars from any other nation. In Cuba’s culture the car is a family heirloom that is passed down the family. Over the years Cuban mechanics have been able to develop amazing engineering and resourcefulness to keep these cars on the road. Cuba’s car culture is just one of many ways that Cubans have been able to endure a life without American trade.

Civilian Casualties

Although the embargo has almost no effect on defeating the Castro regime, it is extremely effective in making life for Cubans way more difficult. The Cuban people have to endure much without American products. Going back to the example with the cars, it takes a lot of time and thinking to keep those cars on the road, and even with that, the cars lack numerous safety and environmentally friendly features that come standard in cars in the rest of the world. This problem does not only affect cars, but almost every other thing that Cubans use. Any technological advancement made in the United States or other nations are usually don’t have much of an effect on Cuba as it does in the rest of the world because of how hard it is to get anything into the country. This leave Cubans using faulty or outdated products to get through daily life. The US embargo can be contributed to the death of many people in Cuba. When the United States further restricted trade with Cuba in 1992, a product that was banned from being sent to Cuba were essential medical supplies. This resulted a decline in the Cuban people having access to medical supplies to keep them alive and the lack of medicine is thought to have led to several outbreaks in deadly diseases across the nation.

The Times Are Changing

For twenty seven years in a row the United Nations have overwhelmingly pass a vote to call for the lift on the US’ Embargo on Cuba. In an 2018 United Nations General Assembly session, every nation, except for the United States and Israel, voted against the Cuban Embargo. Inside the United States more and more people are starting to favor lifting the embargo. A majority of American Citizens favor relaxing or lifting the embargo on Cuba. Cuban Americans, who have the most reasons to be mad at their home nation, favor lifting the embargo and allowing American companies to do business there. Lifting the embargo would give American companies eleven and half million more customers to sell their products too. This is why Cuban and some American officials are confused with the latest restrictions that were announced on Cuba. Even though almost everyone thinks it is time to forgive Cuba and end this failed embargo which as mostly affected the wellbeing of the Cuban people, a handful of politicians in Washington still decide to keep Cuba in a trade shutout.