Cuba–United States relations

• 1. Manifest Destiny And Annexation Attempts

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  In 1848, the United States attempted to purchase Cuba from Spain for $100 million. President James K. Polk sent his minister Romulus Mitchell Saunders on a mission to offer this sum. Saunders did not speak Spanish and was described by Secretary of State James Buchanan as someone who sometimes murdered English. The Spanish government replied that they would prefer seeing Cuba sunk in the ocean rather than sold. This failed negotiation occurred during an era when Southern politicians sought to add another slave state to the Union. Cuba held approximately half a million slaves at the time. In August 1851, forty Americans involved in Narciso López's filibustering expedition were executed by Spanish authorities in Havana. News of these executions caused riots in New Orleans where the Spanish consulate burned to the ground. A secret proposal known as the Ostend Manifesto emerged in 1854. It suggested buying Cuba for $130 million or going to war if Spain refused. Anti-slavery campaigners rejected the plan publicly. By 1877, American buyers had purchased 83 percent of Cuba's total exports. North Americans increasingly settled on the island's northern shore. Some districts there took on more character than Spanish settlements.

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• 2. The Platt Amendment And Military Interventions

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  Cuba gained formal independence in 1902 after U.S. military rule ended. The Teller Amendment disavowed any intention of exercising sovereignty over Cuba. However, the United States only withdrew troops when Cuba agreed to eight provisions of the Platt Amendment. Senator Orville H. Platt authored this amendment to the 1901 Army Appropriations Act. It allowed the United States to intervene in Cuban affairs and required Cuba to lease land for naval bases. The southern portion of Guantánamo Bay became a United States Naval Station established in 1898. This amendment defined terms of relations for thirty-three years. Between 1906 and 1922, the United States intervened militarily multiple times. In 1912, U.S. forces quelled protests by Afro-Cubans against discrimination. President Woodrow Wilson initially wanted to stay out of Cuban affairs but political turmoil continued. Secretary of State Robert Lansing sent General Enoch Crowder to stabilize the situation during the Sugar Intervention. By 1926, U.S. companies owned 60 percent of the Cuban sugar industry. They imported 95 percent of the total crop. President Calvin Coolidge led the U.S. delegation to the Sixth International Conference of American States from January 15 to 17, 1928, in Havana.

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• 3. Revolution And The Embargo Implementation

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  Fidel Castro's rebels broke into armed conflict with the Batista government in July 1953. The United States sold $8.238 million worth of weapons to help quash that rebellion. Washington made a critical move in March 1958 to end rifle sales to Batista's forces. U.S. Ambassador Earl E. T. Smith vehemently opposed this decision. William Wieland lamented that while many considered Batista a son of a bitch, American interests came first. After the revolution succeeded in 1959, relations deteriorated rapidly. Between April 15 and 26, Fidel Castro visited the U.S. as a guest of the Press Club. He laid a wreath at the Lincoln Memorial and met Vice President Richard Nixon. On the 4th of September 1959, Ambassador Bonsal expressed serious concern about treatment of American private interests. In March 1960, tensions rose when the French freighter La Coubre exploded in Havana Harbor killing over 75 people. Castro blamed the United States but admitted he could provide no evidence. That same month, President Eisenhower authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to organize Cuban refugees as a guerrilla force. US investors held around $900 million in Cuba by 1959. This accounted for close to 40 percent of sugar production. On the 19th of October 1960, the prohibition of all exports to Cuba took effect.

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• 4. Covert Operations And The Bay Of Pigs

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  In April 1961, an armed invasion involving about 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles occurred at the Bay of Pigs. It was defeated by Cuban armed forces. During this time, the U.S. sent seven ships, two owned by the United Fruit Company. President Kennedy assumed complete responsibility for the venture which provoked popular reaction against the invasion. The U.S. government engaged in extensive terrorist attacks collectively known as Operation Mongoose. These activities included bombings, sabotage, and assassination attempts on key political leaders. A U.S. Senate Select Intelligence Committee report later confirmed over eight attempted plots to kill Castro between 1960 and 1965. In 1962, U.S. reconnaissance aircraft photographed Soviet construction of intermediate-range missile sites. This discovery led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Tensions reached their peak that year. A year after travel prohibitions began, financial transactions were also banned. Back channels expanded in 1963 despite Attorney General Robert Kennedy's worries. President John Kennedy continued contacts resulting in meetings with Cuban officials like Carlos Lechuga. Other contacts were established directly through media figures such as Lisa Howard and French reporter Jean Daniel days before the Kennedy Assassination.

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• 5. The Cuban Thaw And Normalization Efforts

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  On the 17th of December 2014, an agreement framework to normalize relations was announced by Fidel Castro and Barack Obama. Cuba and the United States pledged to reopen embassies in Havana and Washington. Aid worker Alan Gross and Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, a Cuban national working as a U.S. intelligence officer, were released by the Cuban government. The U.S. released the last three remaining members of the Cuban Five. Formal diplomatic relations re-established on the 20th of July 2015. The Cuban embassy opened in Washington and the U.S. embassy in Havana. On the 14th of April 2015, the Obama administration announced Cuba would be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. This action took effect on the 29th of May 2015 when the 45-day review period lapsed. In March 2016, Barack Obama visited Cuba for three days becoming the first sitting president in 88 years to do so. JetBlue Flight 387 landed in Santa Clara in August 2016 as the first direct commercial flight since the early 1960s. On the 28th of November 2016, the first normally scheduled commercial flight after more than 50 years landed in Havana from Miami on an American Airlines jet.

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• 6. Renewed Hostilities And Modern Sanctions

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  In November 2017, President Donald Trump's administration enacted new rules reinforcing business and travel restrictions. These went into effect on November 9. Trump criticized aspects of the thaw suggesting he could suspend normalization during his campaign. In June 2019, the administration announced further restrictions on American travel to Cuba. In August 2017, diplomats stationed in Havana experienced unusual physical symptoms affecting their brains including hearing loss dizziness and nausea. The U.S. ordered nonessential diplomats out of Cuba in September 2017 due to these health issues. On the 12th of January 2021, the State Department re-added Cuba to its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that Cuba harbored several American fugitives including Assata Shakur. During the 2024 United States elections, Cuban officials undertook localized influence operations opposing anti-regime candidates. In February 2025, the U.S. government halted foreign aid funding for Cuba-focused media outlets. President Trump issued a presidential directive in July for greater enforcement of the travel ban. On the 30th of January 2026, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency regarding Cuba establishing tariffs on countries supplying oil.

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