In the late 1950s, a small band of rebels lead by Fidel Castro moved to overthrow the Cuban government lead by Fulgencio Batista. Batista, once popular with the Cuban people, had sold Cuba out to the mob in the US, and to US multinational corporations. Corruption was rampant and people began to feel discontent upon realizing how they were being exploited. Though there was discontent, there weren’t many that were willing to, or perhaps had the courage to stand up to Batista, except for a small group of revolutionaries, who began planning to overthrow him.

Fidel Castro, son of a wealthy businessman and landowner, was a charismatic media figure who knew what to say and to whom. As the revolutionaries built their notoriety, they gained international attention. In the international media, Castro assured the US that he was not a threat but a man of his people, who believed Batista wasn’t serving their interests. Batista had long had US support in Cuba.

As Castro built his military and media campaign against Batista, more people joined Castro and Batista’s support dropped. The US was content not to intervene. Batista fleed Cuba. The Cuban military didn’t put up a fight, but rather, surrendered to the revolutionaries.

A New Order of Business

One of Castro’s first reforms when he was firmly in power in 1960 was to cast out US multinational corporations. He effectively cuts off US corporate exploitation of Cuba’s economy and resources. It was a shock to the US and to some in Cuba, who had supported the revolution on the basis of removing Batista. Castro and the Cuban revolutionaries also shut down the casinos and ran the mob out.

He declared his goals of combating poverty and strengthening education. Before Castro, little attention or care was paid to poor rural Cubans. People from the cities would begin to go to the countryside and develop literacy programs. Schools and hospitals were built across the island.

Castro’s change in economic policy, his campaign to violently eliminate former members and partners of the Batista regime, and imprison dissenters he viewed as threats to the post-revolution Cuban government caused a wave of Cuban dissidents to flee to the US.

United States Response

The US imposed an arms embargo on Cuba, limiting Cuban forces in procuring weaponry.

The US CIA planned to overthrow Fidel Castro. They trained an army of Cuban dissidents who had fled to the US in Central America to do it. This was under Eisenhower’s Presidency.

Richard Nixon, Eisenhower’s Vice President, was confident he would win the upcoming Presidential election to succeed him.

Because Nixon was so confident he would win, the Eisenhower administration withheld plans to invade Cuba from John F Kennedy.

John F Kennedy beat Nixon and became President elect to succeed Eisenhower. Eisenhower gives a public warning on his way out, to beware the US Military Industrial Complex.

Kennedy Hesitates

John F Kennedy becomes President and learns about the national intelligence plan to move on Cuba and refuses to give the go ahead. He isn’t interested in moving on Cuba. …after the CIA had already spent time and resources training an army and building a plan to carry it out. An election they thought would go one way went the other. This is one of many points of contention that soured Kennedy’s relationship with the head of the CIA.

The Bay of Pigs

In April, 1961, Kennedy finally gave the order to move but gave his conditions, that it would be through a remote beach, the Bay of Pigs, instead of the town of Trinidad, and with reduced aerial support.

The US bombers hit targets designed to reduce Cuban air support. Upon news of the bombings, Castro mobilized the Cuban forces. Three container ships mobilized on the Bay of Pigs filled with Cuban dissidents. The US-backed dissidents seemed to have victory in hand until Castro sent tanks to the beach. 114 dissidents died. More than 1200 were captured. Over 4,000 of Castro’s men were killed, injured, or missing.

The operation’s failure gave Castro an invigorated legitimacy in power and neutralized any underground opposition. He was hailed all over the world, especially in Latin America; seen as a hero like no other Latin American figure before him.

The US agency’s plan… Kennedy’s plan… backfired.

Cuba Alligns with the Soviet Union

In order to prevent Cuba from further US attacks, Cuba allied itself firmly with the Soviet Union. Soviet soldiers and the threat of nuclear war, Castro gambled, would help guarantee Cuba’s independence.

The United States Continues to Deploy Alternative Measures to Oust Castro

The CIAs next move is to attempt to assassinate Castro. They go to the mob for a hitman. The mob takes the government’s money but doesn’t attempt to kill Castro. The mob was working with Castro as double agents, hoping that by working with Castro, they would get their casinos back.

When the mob didn’t work, the CIA looked to Cuban dissidents in the US to employ. They wanted to make it look like the US was not involved, so as to deny culpability and avoid potential war with the USSR.

The US tried to get his former lover to poison him, but Castro knew they sent her and she confided in him that she couldn’t do it.

Cuba infiltrated networks of intelligence so well that Castro met an assassin at an airport and dared them. There were allegedly hundreds of assassination plots, none successful.

Castro, at one point, fired off a quip, warning that if the US continued to try to assassinate Cuban leaders, that the same thing might happen to them.

The Embargo

In addition to covert operations, the US applied economic pressure, extending its embargo from arms to nearly all commercial enterprise.

Che Guevara set out on a campaign to inspire the Cuban people to work harder to spite the embargo.

Before the embargo went into effect, JFK saw to it that the US purchased all of Cuba’s cigars, to be brought to Washington D.C., for himself.

The embargo prevented trade with the US but it did not apply to other nations, thus the embargo alone was not enough to cripple the Cuban economy completely and turn Cubans against Castro.

Nuclear Weapons and Defense Capabilities

Castro was counting on another invasion from the US, but next time, it being the US military, not Cuban dissidents from Miami. He invited Soviet forces to an outpost in Cuba as a deterrent.

Castro also invited the Soviets to put nuclear missiles in Cuba. The US had previously installed nuclear missiles in Turkey, which could reach Russia if launched there. This was Russia not only agreeing to protect Cuba, but protect itself as well.

The Soviet Union provided Cuba with Soviet soldiers, weapons, anti-aircraft guns, nuclear missiles, and bombers.

The Brink of Nuclear War

An arial photo of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba was shown to President Kennedy and his Executive staff. His Generals wanted an immediate invasion of Cuba or the bombing of these missile sites. …preferably without a formal declaration of war, which they reasoned would take away the element of surprise. They knew the nuclear missiles existed but they did not know that they were already operational. They also suggested a naval blockade, but under international law, a blockade was an official act of war.

US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, President Kennedy’s brother, opposed the military operation, likening it to what Japan did to the US at Pearl Harbor. He believed the US should do nothing.

President Kennedy did not want to risk war, however his military and intelligence advisors as well as congressional politicians were pushing him toward it.

A public address given by President Kennedy announced a blockade from any country delivering supplies to Cuba.

The Soviet Union gave orders to ignore the US blockade.

Cuba began to prepare for war. The Soviet Union, to protect their interests, readied their anti-aircraft armory, but were given orders not to strike unless the US struck first.

The US sent spy planes close to Cuban military outposts – an act that was seen by Cuba and the USSR as acts of instigation.

A US spy plane was shot down over Cuba and an American was killed. The US and Soviet governments accused one another of wanting to start a war.

Castro, upon becoming aware of back channel diplomacy talks between the USSR and the US, publicly declared that if the US set foot on Cuban soil or otherwise made a move to interfere in Cuban independence, as Kennedy had once threatened the use of US nuclear weapons, said the Soviet Union should unleash its full arsenal of nuclear weapons on the US. This created panic and hysteria in the US, as it began to feel as though the US would inevitably enter nuclear war with Cuba and the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union was prepared to strike a deal with Kennedy to remove its nuclear weapons from Cuba, if the US would agree not to invade Cuba, and to remove its nuclear weapons from Turkey. Kennedy accepted the deal.

The Fallout

Castro felt he lost out in the bargain. To make up for it, the Soviet Union invited Castro to Moscow and put on a welcome for him like no other statesman previous. He was seen as a hero in the Soviet Union. He was given awards, gifts, and an honorary Doctor of Science from Moscow University.

Revolutionary and Chief Economic Official, Che Guevara, thought it was foolish of the Soviet Union to back down to the US. Guevara was an advocate for worldwide revolution. He believed there was much more to be done to free people all over the world from colonial imperialism. He no longer saw the Soviet Union as global leaders or revolutionaries.

Prisoners Released from Cuba

Kennedy made efforts to free the Cuban dissidents captured and in the Bay of Pigs invasion. Castro gave progressive prices to Kennedy, each person costing more depending on their income, status, and rank. JFK sent roughly 52 million US dollars worth of food and medicine to Cuba for their release.

Upon their release, JFK made a spectacle of it, and publicly promised to send them back with the flag of their homeland to a free Cuba. He opened up the US armed forces to the freed dissidents with the assumption they would once again plan to invade Cuba.

Despite his rhetoric, Kennedy had not authorized further invasion plans for Cuba and planned to chart a diplomatic course.

The Start of Potential Diplomacy

Kennedy told a journalist in the Oval Office that Castro didn’t bother him. Communism didn’t bother him – of course, he was not a communist, he said – and Cuba being communist didn’t bother him – it didn’t matter, he said. He said what did matter was war and peace.

Weeks later, Castro met with the journalist that had met with Kennedy and probed him for several hours about his conversation with the US President. He seemed open to making a deal with Kennedy.

The Assassination of John F Kennedy

The alleged shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, had been a political agitator that lived in the Soviet Union for a couple of years and allegedly visited a Cuban embassy and declared he would kill Kennedy. This is the US’ version of events.

Not long after the meeting occurred, Castro spoke with the journalist and informed him he learned that Kennedy was shot and that it was very serious, and predicted the US would blame it on Cuba.

When Lyndon B Johnson became President, he made clear that Cuba and the US were sworn enemies.

Che Guevara

Cuban revolutionary and Chief Economic Officer Che Guevara began opposing Fidel Castro soon after he questioned the Soviet Union’s own imperialism, questioning how different it really was from that of US imperialism. Guevara was well studied in social and economic theory. He knew what communism was to look like in practice.

Guevara made a trip to a foreign country and publicly criticized the Soviet Union. When he returned to Cuba, Castro met with Guevara in Havana. When they were done, Guevara was relieved of his duties in Castro’s government.

After ‘resigning’, Guevara worked in secret to spread revolutionary ideas to the so-called third world, particularly in Africa. His aim was multiple small scale revolutions that would draw the US and it’s allies into wars it could not win. He wanted multiple Vietnams occurring at once.

He was unsuccessful in the Congo, underestimating the complexities of tribal rivalries and their misinterpretation of the Cuban revolution. He then turned his sights on Bolivia.

Che informed his revolutionary squadron that they would be fighting for at least ten to fifteen years, as the plan was to liberate Latin America.

Castro promised to support the Bolivian communist party. However, Bolivians did not want a civil war. Neither did the Soviet Union, and declined their support. Castro’s full support never materialized.

When the Bolivian President realized who was behind revolutionary uprisings in Bolivia, he sent word to the United States, for support. This is what Che Guevara wanted.

The US did not send a military operation. They sent CIA agents. The CIA assisted the Bolivian army in tracking down Guevara’s encampment.

Guevara was injured, taken prisoner, and interrogated by a CIA agent that was a Cuban exile, who had participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion. The CIA wanted to keep Guevara alive, to exploit the rift between him and Castro, however the Bolivian President ordered him to be executed, and thus he was, in such a way that made it look like he was killed in a shootout.

Castro made a martyr out of Guevara, publicly proclaiming that all Cubans should strive to be like Che.

Moving forward, Castro would run the government relatively unchallenged.

How the Cuban Economy Operated

By the 1970s, Cuban social services and education were free to the public.

Cuba survived its economic shortcomings thanks to its trade agreement with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union did not capitalize on Cuba or exploit its people or economy. There were no Soviet companies in Cuba. The USSR forgave Cuba’s debts out of camaraderie. It also had strategic interest in seeing Cuba succeed.

The Soviet Union Folds, Creating Uncertainty

With the election of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union would soon implement reforms and dismantle itself. The end of the Soviet Union presented hardship for Castro’s government.

Despite its challenges, Castro refused to allow Cuba to abandon what he felt were Marxist-Leninist principles.

A high ranking Cuban official met with Gorbachev, his criticisms of Castro noted. Not long after, Castro put the Cuban official on trial for allegations of drug trafficking cocaine to the United States. It was televised publicly. Castro was sending a message, that if he was willing to dispense of his top official, no one was safe.

Cuba’s Economic Lifeline is Cut

Boris Yeltson succeeded Gorbachev, who only held power for a brief time. Yeltson cut financial ties with Cuba, devastating the Cuban economy; because it so heavily relied on the partnership in the face of the US embargo and economic sanctions.

The split also affected Cuba’s defense capabilities.

Despite the deterioration of their economic lifeline, Cuba would not sell their independence. The Cuban people began taking measures to survive in harsh economic conditions.

Reorganizing the Cuban Economy

Cuba tried to reestablish itself through tourism. It built up its beaches and hospitality industry. In 1993, Castro introduced the US dollar as a second legal tender, primarily for tourists. An advantage of this move was that Cuban in exile in the United States could now send money to Cuba. This created revenue of a couple billion dollars a year. However, US citizens could still only get to Cuba via other countries.

As Fidel Castro delegated some authority to his brother Raul Castro, Raul created military companies and farmers markets.

40% of the Cuban economy was from tourism. The industry was directly controlled by the Cuban army. The hospitality industry financed the army.

Cuba was the first Latin American country to offer its citizens free universal education and healthcare, and continued to, however Cuban infrastructure collapsed and basic food items were in short supply.

Private enterprise and political parties remained banned.

When discontent bubbled, Castro encouraged those who wished to leave to leave Cuba. And many did, to the United States. A mass exodus occurred in 1994.

A New Economic Partnership Emerges

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Castro had to find new partners to ensure its survival. Cuba began selling secrets, collected by its spy services. In 1999, Cuban intelligence services began working in Venezuela.

Chavez shared Castro’s opposition to US influence in Latin America.

In 2002, Cuban intelligence helped Venezuela put down a coup that sought to oust Chavez.

Cuba sent doctors, teachers, and spies to help Chavez seek and disrupt plots to overthrow him. Venezuela sent oil to Cuba. Cuba not only used the oil to engineer its own energy but sold it on the international market to compound the value.

Chavez treated Castro with immense respect, like a Latin American hero. Venezuela took on the role the Soviets once played for Cuba.

Cuban spies continue to work in Venezuela to this day, in exchange for the country’s continued support.

Cuban Support for Castro, And Opposition

Fidel Castro benefitted from continued public support from the majority of Cubans that remained in Cuba. He was the clear leader of Cuba. To some, he was god-like. Castro enjoyed the power he wielded. By accounts of those that knew him, that was more valuable to him than any material wealth. Castro lived relatively modestly with regard to materialism.

There had always been opposition to Castro from within Cuba, but it had been more an intellectual opposition that came out in magazine publications – not anything organized by the majority of Cubans from within Cuba.

There was a movement in the early 2000s by leaders of Christian youth groups to challenge the Cuban constitution to demand a change to the Cuban government, to allow what they referred to as free and fair elections, and to build a parliament. Their challenge was ignored.

After a visit to Cuba by former President Jimmy Carter, who promoted the issue of the challenge of the church group, Castro had leaders of the group arrested on charges of treason.

Some family members of the arrested dissidents protested the arrests and demanded their freedom – the ‘ladies in white.’ The prisoners were not released.

Guantanamo Bay

Castro continued to blame the US for Cuba’s troubles, due to the embargo, sanctions, and continued attempts to overthrow his government in one way or another, through military action, assassination attempts, special operations, and by hiring inside agitators. He had also seen the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay as a constant provocation. Armed US soldiers had been stationed there since 1903, as a kind of sovereign thorn on Cuban land.

After the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, Castro condemned terrorism, and condemned war.

The US went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq and detained many who were believed to be enemy combatants, sending them to the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where the US could operate outside of domestic law.

Accusations began coming out of Guantanamo Bay that prisoners of war were being tortured. This was significant to Cuba because the US had long accused Cuba of violating human rights, but were themselves violating human rights, on Cuban soil. Cuba condemned the US for its violations of human rights at Guantanamo.

Raul Castro Becomes President of Cuba

Raul Castro has been President of Cuba since 2008. He has continued most of his brother Fidel’s policies.

The Death of Hugo Chavez

Cuba lost one of its chief allies when Hugo Chavez died of cancer in 2013, bringing its relationship with Venezuela into a realm of uncertainty.

Cuba has remained an ally of Venezuela through the Maduro government, and has maintained its economic arrangement.

Pope Francis Visits Cuba

Pope Francis visited Cuba in 2015. The remaining members of the opposition lead by members of the church were allowed to flee for Spain thanks to mediation by the Catholic Church.

Francis, originally from Argentina, inserted himself into foreign relations between Cuba and the United States, helping to bring the two sides together for negotiations to normalize relations.

Normalization of US-Cuba Relations Begins

US President Barack Obama opened relations with Cuba in 2015. The US embassy was reopened in Cuba for the first time since 1963.

Donald Trump Reverses Course on US-Cuba Relations

When Donald Trump was elected President in 2016, he reversed course on US-Cuba relations, stating, “The president’s one-sided deal for Cuba and with Cuba benefits only the Castro regime but all the concessions that Barack Obama has granted the Castro Regime was done through executive order, which means they can be undone and that is what I intend to do unless the Castro Regime meets our demands.”

Under the Presidency of Donald Trump, US citizens could not travel directly to Cuba nor could cruise ships stop in Cuba – a direct attack on Cuba’s tourism industry.

Financial and banking restrictions were increased.

Trump refused to name a US Ambassador to Cuba.

The US demanded the Marriott Hotel close its business in Havana.

Under the Trump administration, engagement turned into isolation and confrontation. Observers were critical of the administration’s approach, arguing that it would hurt the Cuban people.

On the final days of the Trump administration, just after the failed coup at the US Capitol on January 6th, the US re-designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, imposing new sanctions.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez condemned the U.S. action. “The US political opportunism is recognized by those who are honestly concerned about the scourge of terrorism and its victims,” he said on Twitter.

One of the sanctions imposed in conjunction with Cuba being designated a state sponsor of terrorism was that Cubans in Florida could no longer send money to their relatives in Cuba, further squeezing Cuba’s ability to sustain itself.

Trump’s actions against Cuba were cheered on by Cuban and Venezuelan exiles in Florida.

Thus far, President Joe Biden has not shown an interest in reversing Trump’s foreign policy with relation to Cuba.

New Political Demonstrations in Cuba and US Media and Political Spin

Recently, in July, 2021, there has been a new wave of political demonstrations in Cuba. There is much effort in the US media to spin the narrative toward what it calls a liberation of the Cuban people. Democrats and Republicans have expressed support for demonstrations against the Cuban government, including President Joe Biden. The media has not shown any of the larger counter demonstrations, nor the public call for the United States to stay out of it.

The US media has been creating more and more anti-socialist and anti-communist propaganda, especially since 2015, when Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

In his latest run, Sanders captured a large portion of the Latin American vote in Nevada, however much was made, with little context, among conservatives and anti-socialist liberals about how Sanders’ self-avowed democratic socialism would alienate Cuban voters in Florida.

The Importance of Context and Historical Perspective

This history of US-Cuban relations is important to understand in the context of what is playing out in Latin America and the United States at this very moment.

The US embargo and sanctions on Cuba have created conditions in Cuba that have made life very difficult for the Cuban people, in large part to create the conditions of revolution against the longstanding Cuban government, with the objective of reinstalling a government like that of the Batista regime.

Sources:
The Cuba Libre Story (2016)
Trump Hits Cuba with New Sanctions in Waning Days – PBS (2021)