US Cuban Relations

The US and Cuba - History Before 1898

The connections between the US and Cuba's history begin almost from the birth of the US.

In 1823, then US Secretary of State and later President John Quincy Adams used the metaphor of a ripe apple falling from a tree to refer to Cuba. He considered it natural that Cuba would become part of the United States when it broke from Spain.

Adams's statement reflected similar thoughts that led to the issuing of the Monroe Doctrine later the same year, which designated the Western Hemisphere as a sphere of influence for the US.

Before the US Civil War, some politicians in the slave-holding states of the south argued for the annexation of Cuba and other islands in the Caribbean to expand the number of slave states. Cuba had become the world's leading producer of sugar after the Haitian Revolution, and the island had a large slave population. In fact, fears of insurrection and Afro-Cuban rule had contributed to the failure of independence movements.

Fig 2 - Cuban Independence fighters in a battle in 1896.

Cuba and American Imperialism

US citizens had purchased a significant number of sugar plantations and sugar mills in Cuba from Spaniards leaving the island after the first war of Cuban Independence ended in 1878. Much of the sugar produced in Cuba was also sold to the United States.

When the final war for Cuban Independence began in 1895, the US therefore sought to protect its interests. Many politicians and military officials in this period also adhered to the idea that the US would benefit from the establishment of naval and coaling stations in the Caribbean. Ideas of Social Darwinism, white superiority, and the idea that Cubans could not successfully govern themselves combined with these motivations to lead to intervention on the island.

Fig 3 - Political cartoon published in the US in 1898.

"Remember the Maine" - The Spanish-American War

In early 1898, the battleship the USS Maine was sent to Havana Harbor. It was officially on a mission to protect American lives, property, and interests on the island. On February 15, the ship blew up and sank.

Although subsequent investigations have found that the most likely cause of the explosion was an engine problem, the initial investigation blamed a Spanish mine. The press, already in favor of intervention, whipped up public opinion in favor of war with calls to "remember the Maine."

The US declared war on Spain, and quickly defeated them. In the peace that followed, the US gained Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. There was considerable debate within the US about what should be done with these islands. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were kept under US control, but the US had justified its intervention in Cuba, at least in part, by saying they supported its independence.

Mediated Sovereignty and the Platt Amendment

Therefore, it was decided that Cuba would be given independence after a period of military occupation. Upon its independence in May 1902, Cuba was required to include the Platt Amendment as part of its constitution. This document contained a number of clauses that hindered Cuba's sovereignty, including:

• Limitations on Cuba's ability to make treaties with other countries
• Cuba was prohibited from taking on government debt
• The US had a right to intervene on the island
• All actions carried out by the occupation government would be accepted and continued
• The US would have the right to lease land for the construction of naval bases

The Platt Amendment therefore created a neocolonialist relationship between the US and Cuba. In addition to building and maintaining the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, the US intervened on the island several times in the early 20th century, sending soldiers in 1906, 1912, and 1917.

Sugar and Trade Reciprocity

The US occupation and subsequent governments also maintained Cuba's status as a major sugar producer as well as maintaining the socio-economic social structure. While this was profitable for the plantation and mill owners, failure to diversify limited opportunities for Cuba's large rural working class. Sugar also meant the island was dependent on the US as a market and could be subject to booms and busts in the price of sugar.

After the Platt Amendment was ended in 1934 as part of Franklin Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy, trade agreements over sugar maintained the strong influence and indirect control by the US over Cuba. In what was known as the sugar quota, the US promised to buy large amounts of Cuban sugar at prearranged prices every year, and in exchange, Cuba reduced import taxes on manufactured goods from the US.

The Cuban Revolution

The legacy of US imperialism on Cuba was one factor in the causes of the Cuban Revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. Castro's rise to power would dramatically alter US Cuban Relations in the 1960s and beyond.

Fig 4 - Members of Castro's July 26th Movement celebrating their victory in the Cuban Revolution.

Relationship Between the US and Cuba in the 1960s

By 1961, the new government led by Castro had engineered a complete break with the US. All trade between the countries stopped, and they engaged in antagonism that has continued into the 21st century.

Was Castro a Communist?

Upon taking power, Castro was seen as a wildcard. He and his rebel forces with their long beards had inspired public support in the US and were featured in the New York Times during the revolutionary war.

US policymakers were unsure of Castro's politics, though. He was clearly a radical nationalist and expressed calls for more complete independence and social and economic reforms, but at least up to his taking of power in 1959, had not declared himself a communist. However, two of his closest lieutenants, his brother Raul and Argentine Ernesto "Che" Guevara, were communists.

Over the course of 1959 and 1960, the Cuban communist party, the Partido Socialista Popular or Popular Socialist Party, also became more involved in Castro's government. It also began negotiations with the Soviet Union on trade, and even the purchase of weapons.

Fig 5 - Castro and other revolutionaries in 1959.

The Break with the US

An Agrarian Reform Law, one of the revolutionary government's signature policies and passed in mid-1959, set off tensions between the US and Cuba. This law limited and redistributed large landholdings and inspired protest from the US, since many US citizens owned large sugar plantations.

In mid-1960, US owned oil refineries in Cuba refused to refine oil Cuba had purchased from the Soviet Union. Castro responded by nationalizing them. The US responded by canceling the sugar quota for the rest of the year, which the Soviet Union then promised to buy. In September 1960, Castro visited the United Nations, where he spoke for over 4 hours and was highly critical of the US.

Bay of Pigs and the Missile Crisis

By 1960, President Eisenhower had green lit CIA covert operations against the Castro government. These plans culminated in the arming and training of a force of Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro in what became known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

The invasion, which took place from April 17-20, 1961, was quickly defeated by the Cubans. It was on the eve of the invasion that Castro declared the Cuban Revolution socialist in nature, likely due in part to a desire for more help from the Soviet Union.

Preventing a further invasion of Cuba by the US was one of the motivating factors in the Soviet decision to place nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962, an action which sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The US came to the brink of launching airstrikes and a possible full-scale invasion of the island, which may have led to a nuclear war with the USSR, before the USSR agreed to remove the missiles.

Relationship Between the US and Cuba since the 1960s

US and Cuban relations remained antagonistic throughout the Cold War period and beyond. The start of the 21st century has seen some movement towards normalization.

Continued Hostility

After the missile crisis, an embargo on Cuban goods, referred to as a blockade by the Cuban government, was put in place in an effort to apply economic pressure in the hopes the Castro government would fall. There were numerous other covert operations carried out against Cuba, including sabotage of Cuban industry and numerous attempts to assassinate Castro.

Immigration Policies

US policy also encouraged Cubans to leave the island, as Cubans were granted special immigration status as political refugees. Some have contended that this policy helped eliminate the moderate opposition to Castro, strengthening rather than hurting his rule. It did lead to large-scale immigration to the US, especially to Florida, where Cubans constitute a significant and politically influential minority. The Cuban American National Foundation is an influential anti-Castro interest group that continues to influence US policy today.

US Cuba Relations and Guantánamo Bay

Under the terms of the Platt Amendment, the US had built and maintained a naval base at Guantánamo Bay, near the eastern tip of Cuba. Since the Cuban Revolution, the base and presence of US military personnel there has been a source of continual tension between the Castro government and the US.

The Cuban government called for it to be closed after the Missile Crisis and has refused to accept the lease payments. However, the US has refused to abandon the base. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the start of the US War on Terror, the base became the site of a prison holding terrorist suspects. The controversial nature of the prison and accusations of mistreatment of prisoners and denial of due process has only further aggravated tensions over the base's presence on Cuban soil.

Relations After the End of the Cold War

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba entered a period of economic crisis in the 1990s, known as the Special Period. In hopes the regime would collapse, the US tightened the embargo with the 1992 Torricelli Act that prevents any ship that docks in Cuba from docking in the US and the 1996 Helms-Burton Act tried to prevent foreign companies from investing in Cuba.

Towards Normalization?

Despite this tightening of the screws, the Castro regime survived the Special Period. In the early 21st century, both governments pursued moves towards normalization of relations. In 2015, full formal diplomatic relations were reestablished after being broken since 1961. President Barack Obama visited Cuba the following year. Restrictions on US citizens travel to Cuba were loosened in efforts to promote better relations between the countries' peoples.

Fig 6 - Barack Obama meeting with Raul Castro in Cuba in 2016.

However, a more aggressive posture towards Cuba adopted by President Donald Trump, the death of Fidel Castro, and incidents of US embassy personnel suffering mysterious headaches that some officials believe are the result of psychological operation attacks have halted and cast doubt on the full normalization of relations between the two countries.