Cuba oil boom may complicate U.S. embargo

[Doondoo]

The discovery of oil in the Florida Straits and near the Cuban shoreline -- potentially billions of barrels of reserves -- has boosted Cuba's energy prospects and drawn the attention of the U.S. oil industry.

Now, a small Canadian energy company, Sherritt International, says it plans to export Cuban oil for the first time -- a move that could put the crude on a collision course with the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

Details are few, but questions about the move go to the heart of the embargo: Where will the oil be refined? And how could Sherritt International or subsequent handlers keep the Cuban crude out of fuel being exported to the United States? The issues rise as the oil and gas industry turns its gaze to the prospect of oil drilling off Cuba -- currently forbidden fruit for U.S. companies.

.......

The Sherritt International plans drew fire from Cuban-American U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, R-Miami.

'Sherritt is on the `short list' of companies that will have very serious civil as well as criminal legal problems in Cuba when the Cuban people recover their sovereignty and have a government that fights for their rights,'' Díaz-Balart said.

''Their oil investments will involve but a small part of their legal problems once the rule of law returns to Cuba,'' the lawmaker said in a statement e-mailed to The Miami Herald.


http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/28682.html

[wilt the stilt]

1. It's time to invade

and overthrow another ruthless dictator. Dick and George we need you now!!!!

[Javaman]

9. Don't say I didn't warn you, check out this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2749568&mesg_id=2749568


moron* and his room full of dopes are already hard at work with the spin machine...

[OKthatsIT]

31. and Cuba is making bioweapons? YARITE. (US media are liars)

STOP IT!

WE DONT BELIEVE ANY OF YOUR BULLSHIT, START A NEW WAR, FOR OIL!!!!!

[MADem]

2. I'm guessing if we don't kiss and make up, we'll do a little Kuwaiti-style slant drilling!!!!

Billions of barrels, eh? Gotta get in on that party, they're thinking...

[wakeme2008]

3. Hot Buttered

:popcorn: time.....

I just can not believe these idiots.... "Once the rule of law returns to Cuba...." Never going to happen....

[Mika]

5. To Diaz-Balart the "the rule of law" = US run oligarchy. n/t

[Joe Chi Minh]

17. Might is right.

[Gman]

4. PREDICTION:

The Cuba embargo will be abolished by the end of 2008, before Bush leaves office. If we're talking billions of barrels, this could be potentially as much or even more than in Saudi Arabia or Iraq. That's WAY too much money for these guys to ignore. If it comes down to a choice between Big Oil and a relative handful of votes in South Florida, Big Oil will win. You can paint Florida blue starting in '10.

[ohio2007]

25. the correct embargo busting prediction

as soon as Fidel is verified dead,and within that 24 hour announcement ,....congress will pass a resolution calling for the end of the US embargo....lifting the ban congress imposed in the early 60's.


Thats why all the hub bub of his death a few months ago had certain folks inside the beltway heading for Havana.

[Judi Lynn]

27. Congress has been struggling to overtune Cuba legislation for YEARS, only

to have it destroyed time after time after time by The Cuban "exile" Congresspeople, and their corruptible associates in Congress. I can remember watching C-Span as far back as 2000, watching Tom Delay adding his screech to theirs as they howled and shrieked against normalizing relations with the island.

If the Democrats get organized in Congress, there's a very good chance what you're saying WILL happen, as they've passed bills over and over even when the Republicans had control, only to have them ripped out at the last minute by dirty maneuvers from the anti-Cuba faction members.

What's Happening in Congress

For five years, Congress has repeatedly voted in favor of ending the ban on travel to Cuba-decisively and in a bi-partisan manner. However, under threat of a presidential veto and through the backroom maneuverings of Republican leadership, the Cuba provision has always been removed from the final bill, against the will of the Congress and of the American people (who polls show to support by 70 percent an end to the travel ban and other provisions of the embargo). This, in a democracy!

This past summer, Cuba amendments impacting Cuban-American family travel and educational exchange were defeated in the House of Representatives for the first time. Many members of Congress voted against their previous on-the-record positions of opening travel. What happened? As constituents, we would like to believe that our representatives in Washington speak for our opinions rather than for out-of-state campaign contributors. In June, however, the House demonstrated how money can influence congressional decision-making.

As documented by www.opensecrets.org , the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC (Political Action Committee), an organization which totes an "anti-Castro" objective and opposes any relaxation of restrictions, donated between $1,000 and $5,000 to 111 members of Congress or candidates in 2004. Of these members, 33 had consistently voted to lift restrictions on travel to Cuba in previous years. After accepting an out-of-state campaign donation, however, these 33 members reversed their support for measures easing the travel ban. It appears that campaign contributions "bought" the support of representatives who had formerly favored restoring at least some important relationships with Cubans.
(snip/...)

http://www.pcusa.org/washington/issuenet/latin-050921.htm

[Boo Boo]

6. That's hillarious. Talk about poetic justice! /nt

[NashVegas]

7. There Are 50 States in the US

And a territory or two.

We'll have much better luck getting a US-friendly government in place when Castro dies if we tell the Batistas to fuck off, now.

[Mika]

8. Cuba already has a US friendly government.

Cuba only has a beef with US sanctions put in place by the US government (that a majority of Americans do not want), and NOT with the people of the USA. Cuba wants Americans to be able to travel to Cuba freely so that they can see the island for themselves.

It is the US government that prevents us from freely doing so. Not Cuba.

[brentspeak]

10. Why do we have this stupid embargo, again?

I understand that Fidel's regime is a repressive Communist regime, but that doesn't prevent the U.S. from doing business with China and letting them siphon off our nation's manufacturing base. If the issue of lifting the embargo were put to a national referendum, the American people would lopsidedly vote to allow open relations with Cuba.

[Texifornia]

11. We can't do business with them!

They're not Democratic!

We can only do business with Democratic countries!

Countries like China and Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan and...

[IndianaGreen]

18. BAWAHAHAHA

We can only do business with Democratic countries!

Countries like China and Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan and...

To the list we can add Al-Qaeda, an organization currently funded by CIA to carry out terrorist attacks inside Iran, and one we used to fill the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army to give grief to the Serbs. What webs we weave!

[Tiberius]

12. Please read Chomsky for an answer to this...

...independence is not tolerated. Sometimes it's called successful defiance in the internal record. Take Cuba. A very large majority of the U.S. population is in favor of establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba and has been for a long time with some fluctuations. And even part of the business world is in favor of it too. But the government won't allow it. It's attributed to the Florida vote but I don't think that's much of an explanation. I think it has to do with a feature of world affairs that is insufficiently appreciated. International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn't pay his protection money. You have to have obedience otherwise the idea can spread that you don't have to listen to the orders and it can spread to important places.

If you look back at the record, what was the main reason for the U.S. attack on Vietnam? Independent development can be a virus that can infect others. That's the way it's been put, Kissinger in this case, referring to Allende in Chile. And with Cuba it's explicit in the internal record. Arthur Schlesinger, presenting the report of the Latin American Study Group to incoming President Kennedy, wrote that the danger is the spread of the Castro idea of taking matters into your own hands, which has a lot of appeal to others in the same region that suffer from the same problems. Later internal documents charged Cuba with successful defiance of U.S. policies going back 150 years ­ to the Monroe Doctrine -- and that can't be tolerated. So there's kind of a state commitment to ensuring obedience

from http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/02/23/18367498.php

[gorbal]

13. I was reading that the other day

Nice to have a good douse of sanity in the mix.

[BayCityProgressive]

14. Good God

I feel bad for Cuba. We will invade for sure now. Hopefully countries like Venezuela and Bolivia will cut off the world's oil supply if the US tries to do this. There would be a protracted gorrilla war in Cuba. Cubans will NEVER let the US take them over.

[Judi Lynn]

15. They did a very capable job of fending off the idiot Bay of Pigs invaders

who thought they'd go right in and overthrow the government which overthrew the filthy, vicious Batista government and they'd get everything back just the way they liked it, with the poor suffering again, and them all back in the drivers' seats.

It didn't work out too well for them then, and the rest of the world outside the United States sees Cuba as a very oppressed David to the U.S. Goliath, one who has been hovering over it, day in, day out, attempting to strangle it to death economically, allowing evil little raiding parties of Cuban "exiles" to come and go, kidnapping, killing, bombing whenever they can.

The image is not pretty. Another invasion would look awful historically, but since when has that ever been a problem to a U.S. right-wing President?

[ngant17]

16. Last I checked, the Pentagon was tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan

Where are they going to get the troops to invade Cuba?

And even if they did, I would bet the farm that there would be a lot of wildfires to put out in South America after the hypothetical invasion of Cuba. For example, Venezeula has just purchased some very nice fighter jets from Russia, and they might feel obliged to join in the ruckus.

[Hunky Dunky]

23. They should cut the oil flow off now

Cold turkey. No more oil from opec monopolies such as Venezuela and Saudia Arabia. We need to be forced to develop energy independence, and not be reliant on foreign nations. It's silly and dangerous. We need to reinvest our wealth in our country. Fuck OPEC.

[ProudDad]

21. For the vast majority

Cuba is not a "repressive" regime. That's more right-wing BS.

In many ways, Cuba is more a democracy than the U.S.

There is a "pretense of democracy" in the U.S. with the two right-wings of the corporate party.

On the other hand, Cuba has a vibrant participatory democracy with local control - unlike the U.S..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Cuba

Fidel Castro has made many statements insisting that Cuba is a “democracy” or has democratic features. In 1960, Castro made a speech to the General Assembly referring to Cuba in relation to other Latin American nations, “We are speaking of democracy. If Government is of people and democratic, people can be consulted, as we are doing here. What is more an example of pure democracy than meetings such as this one. If they cannot call such meetings they are not democracies.” Castro continued “Those who want to see people’s democracy let them come here and see this. We can speak to America and the world because we speak in names of a whole nation.” Castro has also been critical of liberal democracies, describing them as a “Pretense of democracy”.

In 2006, President of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, stated: "At some moment, US rhetoric changed to talk of democracy ... For me, the starting point is the recognition that democracy should begin with Pericles's definition - that society is for the benefit of the majority - and should not be imposed from outside."

Cuba justifies the existence of only one political party by arguing that the PCC “is not a political party in the traditional sense… it is not an electoral party; it does not decide on the formation or composition of the government. It is not only forbidden to nominate candidates but also to be involved in any other stage of the electoral process… The CPC’s role is one of guidance, supervision and of guarantor of participatory democracy.”

The Cuban government describe the full Cuban electoral process as a form of democracy. The Cuban Ministry of External Affairs describes the candidate-selection process as deriving from “direct nomination of candidates for delegates to the municipal assemblies by the voters themselves at public assemblies,” and points out that at the elections to the municipal assemblies, voters do have a choice of candidates. The ban on election campaigning is presented as “The absence of million–dollar election campaigns where resorting to insults, slander and manipulation are the norm.”

[ohio2007]

26. I found this link that goes back to the US war with Spain and into the Eisenhower presidency

A Brief History Explaining the Embargo

For about 400 years Cuba was controlled by Spain until the U.S. won the Spanish-American war in 1898.
The win gave America four years of control in Cuba, until 1902 when the island was finally given its independence with one stipulation: the protection of U.S. interests in Cuba by military intervention (formally known as The Platt Amendment).

However, Fulgencio Batista came to power in 1933 and abolished the aforementioned stipulation. The uprising along with Batista’s new power was largely Communist and therefore not recognized by the U.S. which viewed Communism as a threat to Democracy. U.S. President Eisenhower halted arms supplies to Cuba and Fidel Castro saw this weak point in relations as his chance to oust Batista and assume power which he did on January 1, 1959.

Anger endured over U.S. involvement following their freedom from Spain and Cubans quickly supported Castro’s plan to gain autonomy from America. Castro partnered with the Soviet Union, further straining ties with America. Consequently, the C.I.A. trained and armed the Cuban exiles that landed at “The Bay of Pigs” in an effort to reclaim Cuba from Castro. However, a leak in the C.I.A. informed Castro of the invasion and rather than admit to the planned attack, the Kennedy administration left the exiles on Cuban soil to be shot, imprisoned or otherwise disposed. Many American pilots tried to help the abandoned Cubans and were subsequently shot down.

<snip>


http://www.googobits.com/articles/137-explanation-of-the-us-embargo-on-cuba.html

Lots more detail but thats the nutshell prior to that Texan LBJ's oval office stint up to the current Texas president.

SOme people don't care to go that far back into history but the simple ending of the current embargo will come with the death of fidel

that simple

[Judi Lynn]

28. Thank God many DU'ers are already acquainted with many aspects of Cuban/US history,

and won't have to rely on whatever that is you have posted, which sounds like a brain damaged "exile" from Miami. Any questions any DU'ers have can easily be addressed when they do the simplest research. Whatever they find will almost be guaranteed to be far more adult, and credible.

Here's a quick grab, which is the first thing to come up, from Wikipedia, very, very oversimplified, of course:

Embargo

A U.S. arms embargo had been in force since March 1958 when armed conflict broke out in Cuba between rebels and the Batista government. In July 1960, in response to the nationalizations and expropriations by the Castro government, the United States reduced the Cuban import quota of sugar by 700,000 tons; the Soviet Union responded by agreeing to purchase the sugar instead, and further Cuban expropriations followed. A partial economic embargo was imposed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 19, 1960, and diplomatic relations were broken on January 3, 1961—two years after Castro's rise to power. The Soviet Union promptly stepped in, offering Cuba "preferential" trade prices, mainly for the sugar that Cuba exported and the crude oil the USSR sold them.

In response to Cuba's alignment with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy extended Eisenhower's measures by Executive Order, first widening the scope of the trade restrictions on February 7 (announced on February 3) and again on March 23, 1962. (According to former aide Pierre Salinger, Kennedy asked him to purchase thousands of Cuban cigars for Kennedy's future use immediately before the extended embargo was to come into effect.) Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy imposed travel restrictions on February 8, 1963, and the Cuban Assets Control Regulations were issued on July 8, 1963, under the Trading with the Enemy Act in response to Cubans hosting Soviet nuclear weapons, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Under these restrictions, Cuban assets in the U.S. were frozen and the existing restrictions were consolidated.

Multilateral sanctions were imposed by the Organization of American States (OAS) on July 26, 1964, but these were abandoned on July 29, 1975.

The restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba lapsed on March 19, 1977; the regulation was renewable every six months, but President Jimmy Carter did not renew it and the regulation on spending U.S. dollars in Cuba was lifted shortly afterwards. President Ronald Reagan reinstated the trade embargo on April 19, 1982. This has been modified subsequently with the present regulation, effective June 30, 2004,<3> being the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 515.<4> The current regulation does not limit travel of US Citizens to Cuba per se, but it makes it illegal for US Citizens to have transactions (spend money or receive gifts) in Cuba under most circumstances without a US government Office of Foreign Assets Control issued license<1>.

The 1963 U.S. embargo was reinforced in October 1992 by the Cuban Democracy Act (the "Torricelli Law") and in 1996 by the Cuban Liberty and Democracy Solidarity Act (known as the Helms-Burton Act) which penalises foreign companies that do business in Cuba by preventing them from doing business in the US. The European Union resented this act because it felt the US was dictating how other nations conducted their trade and challenged it on that basis. The EU eventually dropped its challenge in favor of negotiating a solution.<5>

While the U.S. has sought to normalize trade relations with other Communist states, such as the People's Republic of China and Vietnam, there is a large lobby among the largely conservative Cuban-American constituency, particularly Cuban exiles living in Florida, that opposes such normalization with Cuba. Because Florida is a politically important state, it is difficult for either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party to substantially change American policy towards Cuba. However, the Republican Party has generally been in favor of a more hardline approach, as evidenced by the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. This Title III of this law also states that any non-U.S. company that "knowingly traffics in property in Cuba confiscated without compensation from a U.S. person" can be subjected to litigation and that company's leadership can be barred from entry into the United States. Sanctions may also be applied to non-U.S. companies trading with Cuba. This restriction also applies to maritime shipping, as ships docking at Cuban ports are not allowed to dock at U.S. ports for six months. It's important to note that this title includes waiver authority, so that the President might suspend its application. This waiver must be renewed every six months and it has traditionally been. It was renewed for the last time July 17, 2006,<6> therefore the suspension of this provision will remain effective for, at least, another six months following that date.
(snip/...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_Cuba

[ohio2007]

29. Wikipedia

is a source that can be filtered and changed daily. I simply googled the original question of why the embargo is in place.

What you copy from Wikipedia today will morph .
Maybe even become revised into something you may see as a vile attempt to rewrite history.
That is what Wikipedia is all about.



edit this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_embargo_against_Cuba&action=edit

on edit

this is the page where you can see when articles have been "revised".
This embargo page has been uptaded just a few days ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_embargo_against_Cuba&action=history

Revisionist history;
It's not "written in stone" ;)

[Judi Lynn]

30. I've got an idea: how about a timeline, with actual dates and events?

This is the 2nd choice available in a standard search on the Cuban embargo. That leaves 963,998 other references to examine, after this one:

March 17. President Eisenhower approves a covert action plan against Cuba that includes the use of a "powerful propaganda campaign" designed to overthrow Castro. The plan includes: a) the termination of sugar purchases b) the end of oil deliveries c) continuation of the arms embargo in effect since mid-1958 d) the organization of a paramilitary force of Cuban exiles to invade the island.

October 19. U.S. imposes a partial economic embargo on Cuba that excludes food and medicine.

1961 September 4. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 passes in the U.S. Congress. It prohibits aid to Cuba and authorizes the President to create a "total embargo upon all trade" with Cuba.

Louis A. Pérez, Jr.,
from his book
Cuba, between Reform and Revolution, 2nd Edition Pg. 346
"The U.S. trade embargo after 1961 had jolting effects. By the early 1960s, conditions in many industries had become critical due to the lack of replacement parts. Virtually all industrial structures were dependent on supplies and parts now denied to Cuba. Many plants were paralyzed. Havoc followed. Transportation was especially hard hit: the ministry was reporting more than seven thousand breakdowns a month. Nearly one-quarter of all buses were inoperable by the end of 1961. One-half of the 1,400 passenger rail cars were out of service in 1962. Almost three-quarters of the caterpillar tractors stood idle due to a lack of replacement parts."

1962 February 7. President Kennedy broadens the partial trade restrictions imposed by Eisenhower to a ban on all trade with Cuba, except for non-subsidized sale of foods and medicines.

March 23. President Kennedy expands the Cuban embargo to include imports of all goods made from or containing Cuban materials, even if made in other countries.

August 1. The Foreign Assistance Act is amended to prohibit aid to "any country" that provides assistance to Cuba.

October 2. The U.S. government cables all Latin American governments and NATO countries new measures to tighten the economic embargo against Cuba. As of today, the transport of U.S. good is banned on ships owned by companies that do business with Cuba.

1963 February 8. The Kennedy administration prohibits travel to Cuba and makes financial and commercial transactions with Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens.

May 14. The U.S. Department of Commerce announces the requirement of specific approval for exports of all food and medicine to Cuba.

November 17. President Kennedy asks French journalist Jean Daniel to tell Castro that he is now ready to negotiate normal relations and drop the embargo. According to former Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, "If Kennedy had lived I am confident that he would have negotiated that agreement and dropped the embargo because he was upset with the way the Soviet Union was playing a strong role in Cuba and Latin America…"

December. The Foreign Assistance Act is amended to prohibit U.S. aid to countries that continue to trade with Cuba.

December 12. Less than one month after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy seeks to end the travel ban to Cuba in a memo to Secretary of State Dean Rusk. He refers to the ban as "inconsistent with traditional American liberties," and difficult to enforce. The memo is not released to the public until June 29 2005.

December 13. Robert F. Kennedy's memo of December 12 is discussed at a State Department meeting (to which RFK is not invited) and Undersecretary of State George Ball rules out the possibility of ending the travel ban to Cuba.

1964 February 25. Asked why the US trades with the Soviet Union but not with Cuba, Secretary of State Dean Rusk answers that the Soviet government is a "permanent" government, and the US views Castro as "temporary."

July 26. The Organization of American States (OAS) adopts mandatory sanctions against Cuba, requiring all members to sever diplomatic and trade relations. Only Mexico refuses to comply.


1975 February 9. In a TV interview from Mexico City, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy urges the U.S. government to lift the embargo and normalize relations with Cuba. "I believe the idea of isolating Cuba was a mistake," says Kennedy. "It has been ineffective. Whatever the reasons and justifications may have been at the time, now they are invalid."

July 28. The Organization of American States (OAS) votes to end political and economic sanctions against Cuba. This opens the way for each member nation to decide whether to have diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba, which many had already established.

August 21. The U.S. announces that it will allow foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies to sell products in Cuba, and that it would no longer penalize other nations for trade with Cuba.

November 15. In Washington, Representative John B. Breaux and senator J. Bennett Johnston Jr., Democrats from Louisiana, argue that it is in the national interest for Louisiana to be allowed to sell rice to Cuba. Mr. Breaux is quoted in the New York Times: "…my constituents say that if the United States can sell grain to the Soviet Union and China, why can't they sell rice to Cuba?"

1976 April 5. U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger states that there is no possibility of U.S. relations with Cuba while Cuban troops are in Africa.

1977
March 19. U.S. President Carter drops the ban on travel to Cuba and on U.S. citizens spending dollars in Cuba.

Wayne Smith, Director of Cuban Affairs at the Department of State under Jimmy Carter: "There were three major fields or issues that had to be addressed before there could be a substantial improvement in relations. Number one: Cuban troops had to begin to leave Africa. Number two: There had to be some improvement in Cuba's human rights performance, and specially in terms of releasing political prisoners. And number three: A reduction in Soviet-Cuban military ties." - From the book: "Cuba, Voices of Change," by Lynn Geldof.

May 25. The U.S. State Department warns that Cuba's recent deployment of military advisors in Ethiopia could "impede the improvement of U.S.-Cuban relations."

1978 February 27. U.S. Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, states that he does not foresee the normalization of relations with Cuba due to the presence of Cuban troops in Africa.

The Carter Administration relaxes laws to allow U.S. residents to send money to relatives in Cuba.

1979January 1. Cuban-Americans are permitted to visit their families in Cuba. More than 100,000 visit in the coming year.

June 19. In the U.S., Rep. Ted Weiss (D-NY) introduces unsuccessful legislation to end the U.S. trade blockade against Cuba and re-establish diplomatic relations.

1981 January. Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President, and institutes the most hostile policy against Cuba since the invasion at Bay of Pigs. Despite conciliatory signals from Cuba, the new U.S. administration announces a tightening of the embargo.

1982 April 19. The Reagan Administration reestablishes the travel ban, prohibits U.S. citizens from spending money in Cuba, and allows the 1977 fishing accord to lapse.

1985 October 4. U.S. President Reagan bans travel to the U.S. by Cuban government or Communist Party officials or their representatives. It also bars most students, scholars, and artists.

1989 November 20. According to new regulations by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. citizens who travel to Cuba can only spend a maximum of $100 per day.

1990 October. In alliance with conservative Republicans, Cuban émigrés and the U.S. Congress pass the Mack Amendment, which prohibits all trade with Cuba by subsidiaries of U.S. companies located outside the U.S., and proposes sanctions or cessation of aid to any country that buys sugar or other products from Cuba.

1992 February 5. U.S. Congressman Robert Torricelli introduces the Cuban Democracy Act, and says the bill is designed to "wreak havoc on the island."

June 15. From an editorial in the NY Times: "…This misnamed act (the Cuban Democracy Act) is dubious in theory, cruel in its potential practice and ignoble in its election-year expediency… An influential faction of the Cuban American community clamors for sticking it to a wounded regime… There is, finally, something indecent about vociferous exiles living safely in Miami prescribing more pain for their poorer cousins."

October 15. U.S. Congress passes the Cuban Democracy Act, which prohibits foreign-based subsidiaries of U.S. companies from trading with Cuba, travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens, and family remittances to Cuba. The law allows private groups to deliver food and medicine to Cuba. (At this time, 70% of Cuba's trade with U.S. subsidiary companies was in food and medicine. Many claim the Cuban Democracy Act is in violation of international law and United Nations resolutions that food and medicine cannot be used as weapons in international conflicts.)

October 23. President Bush signs the Cuban Democracy Act into law. Congressman Torricelli says that it will bring down Castro "within weeks."

November 24. The United Nations General Assembly votes heavily in favor of a measure introduced by Cuba asking for an end to the U.S. Embargo. The vote is 59 in favor, 3 against (the U.S., Israel and Romania), and 79 abstentions. State Department spokesman Joe Snyder in the LA Times; "The Cuban government, in violation of international law, expropriated billions of dollars worth of private property belonging to U.S. individuals and has refused to make reasonable restitution. The U.S. embargo - and I point out it's not a blockade - is therefore a legitimate response to the unreasonable and illegal behavior of the Cuban government."

1994 October 26. For the 3rd year in a row, the United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly for a measure to end the U.S. Embargo of Cuba. The vote is 101-2, with 48 abstentions, and only Israel votes with the U.S.

1995 October 5. The Clinton Administration announces a new people-to-people-contact plan.

November 2. The United Nations general assembly recommends an end to the embargo (for the fourth consecutive year) by a vote of 117 to 3 (38 abstentions). Only Israel and Uzbekistan join the U.S. in saying no. Since then, each time the vote comes up at the UN, the number of nations voting against the embargo increases.

1996 March 12. President Clinton signs the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act (also known as the Helms-Burton Act) which imposes penalties on foreign companies doing business in Cuba, permits U.S. citizens to sue foreign investors who make use of American-owned property seized by the Cuban government, and denies entry into the U.S. to such foreign investors.

July 16. President Clinton suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

November 12. By a vote of 137 to 3, the United Nations General Assembly recommends, for the 5th consecutive year, that the U.S. end the embargo against Cuba.

1997 January 3. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

February 12. The Clinton Administration approves licenses for U.S. news organizations to open bureaus in Cuba. (The Cuban government allows only CNN into the island.)

July 16. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

November 5. For the 6th straight year, the U.N. General Assembly passes a resolution to end the Cuban embargo. The vote is 143 to 3.

1998 January. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

March 20. U.S. regulations on Cuba are amended as follows:
- U.S. citizens may send up to $1,200 annually to relatives in Cuba.
- Direct passenger flights are permitted.

July 16. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

October 16. The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution against the U.S. embargo on Cuba for the 7th consecutive year. The vote is 157 to end the embargo and 2 (U.S. & Israel) to keep it.

1999 January 16. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

February 18. Six members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus visit Cuba to evaluate the U.S.-imposed embargo. Among the visitors: Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee of California, Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas, Julia Carson of Indiana and others.

February 23. The coalition of Americans for Humanitarian Trade With Cuba join the United States Association of Former Members of Congress to call on the Clinton administration to end the embargo on food and medicines to Cuba. "The U.S. embargo on Cuba is the single most restrictive policy of its kind. Even Iraq is able to buy food and medicine from U.S. sources," says George Fernandez, Executive Director at AHTC. "As a Cuban American, I speak for the vast majority of us who do not think the U.S. should be in the business of denying basic sustenance to families and children in Cuba."

July 16. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

November 9. A resolution is passed in the United Nations General Assembly on the need to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba. The vote is 155 in favor and 2 against (U.S. and Israel). This is the 8th time in as many years that the resolution is passed.

2000 January 15. President Clinton again suspends enforcement of Title III provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.

November 29. A 23-member task force in the U.S., made up of liberals and conservatives, calls for an end to the embargo to "help the island's transition to a post-Castro era and reduce the chances of U.S. military intervention."

2001 April 18. In Washington, the Cuba Policy Foundation releases a poll in which a majority of Americans are said to support the idea of doing business with Cuba and allowing travel to the island. Most agree with the decision to reunite Elián González with his father in Cuba.

November 28. For the 10th consecutive time the United Nations votes to condemn the 4-decade-old trade embargo by a vote of 167 to 3, with three nations abstaining. Voting for the embargo: U.S., Israel and the Marshall Islands.
(snip/...)

http://historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm

[ohio2007]

33. Thats a nice time line but no mention of the beginning of Cuba

The US is responsible for creating Cuba.Cuba was a war prize a lot like the Philippine islands.

[Judi Lynn]

34. Here's another timeline:

Timeline of U.S.–Cuban Relations


1898

U.S.S. Maine blows up in Havana Harbor. In February, 229 U.S. sailors die in a mysterious explosion that becomes the major pretext for war against Spain.

1898

U.S. declares war on Spain. In six months, U.S. forces defeat the Spanish in both the Caribbean and Pacific. Spain relinquishes control of Cuba, which becomes a de facto colony of the United States.

1902

Cuban independence declared. Cuba officially declares its independence on May 20, when the United States ends its direct administration of the island.

1902

Platt Amendment enacted. Cuba becomes a U.S. protectorate as the Cuban constitution is amended to allow U.S. intervention to protect "life, property, and individual liberty" in Cuba. U.S. forces intervene in Cuba seven times over the next 32 years.

1934

Platt Amendment rescinded. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ends overt U.S. role in Cuba under his "Good Neighbor Policy" towards the Caribbean and Latin America.

1952

Batista seizes control of Cuba. Former president and military officer Fulgencio Batista suspends the Cuban constitution and establishes a dictatorship following a military coup.

1959

Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro leads revolutionary forces into Havana. Batista flees.

1960

United States imposes sanctions. As the new Castro regime increasingly allies itself with the Soviet Union, President Eisenhower prohibits U.S. oil companies in Cuba from refining Soviet oil. The United States also moves to embargo Cuban sugar, and cuts off all military and economic aid to Cuba. By the end of the year, the United States imposes a total embargo on exports to Cuba, excepting only food and medicine.

1961

Castro declares himself a Marxist-Leninist. In a December speech, Castro announces his political leanings.

1961

U.S. breaks diplomatic ties to Cuba. In January, President Eisenhower breaks diplomatic relations and tightens the embargo.

1961

Bay of Pigs invasion. In April, President Kennedy authorizes an invasion of Cuba by 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles. The anti-Castro forces are defeated within three days of their landing on the island.

1962

U.S. sanctions tightened. President Kennedy bars from U.S. ports any vessel engaged in trade with Cuba. In addition, all financial transactions with Cuba are banned, except for family remittances.

1962

Cuba's OAS membership suspended. The United States gathers just enough votes to have Cuban membership in the Organization of American States (OAS) suspended.

1962

Cuban Missile Crisis. Following the installation of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy orders a "naval quarantine" around the island. The two superpowers teeter on the edge of nuclear confrontation for more than a week. The Soviets finally agree to remove their missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.

1960s–1980s

Cuba supports communist movements in Third World. The Castro regime sends aid and troops to support communist movements across Latin America and Africa. By the early 1980s, the United States is threatening military action against Cuba, especially for its role in aiding communists in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

1977

U.S.–Cuban relations thaw. The U.S. and Cuban governments agree to open "interest sections" in each others' capital.

1979

Soviet Brigade discovered in Cuba. The United States discovers that a Soviet brigade has been deployed in Cuba. Controversy ensues over whether the stationing of these forces in Cuba violates Soviet pledges made during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1980

Mariel Boat Lift. Close to 125,000 refugees, many of them former prison inmates, flee Cuba for the United States. Despite public opposition, President Carter agrees to admit them.

1983

United States invades Grenada. Claiming that U.S. citizens are in danger, the United States invades the island nation of Grenada following a Cuban-backed coup. Twenty-four Cubans are killed and over 700 are captured.

1984

United States and Cuba conclude immigration pact. The United States and Cuba negotiate an agreement to normalize immigration and return to Cuba the "excludables" (criminals or insane persons who, under U.S. law, are not allowed to reside in the United States) who had arrived during the 1980 Mariel Boat Lift.


1985

Radio Marti begins broadcasts to Cuba. In an effort to weaken the Castro regime, the United States begins beaming radio news and information to Cuba. The Cuban government immediately jams the signal and President Castro suspends the 1984 U.S.–Cuban immigration agreement.

1987

United States and Cuba conclude new immigration pact. The pact allows for the annual immigration of up to 20,000 Cubans to the United States. Cuba also agrees to the repatriation of up to 2,500 Cubans jailed in the United States since the Mariel Boat Lift. The Cuban government reneges on the pact after five months.

1990

TV Marti begins broadcasts to Cuba. The United States expands its anti-Castro regime telecommunications efforts. Cuba begins jamming the signal 23 minutes into the broadcasts.

1991

Soviet economic subsidies to Cuba end. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Cuba loses about $6 billion in annual Soviet subsidies. The Cuban economy rapidly deteriorates.

1992

Congress passes Cuban Democracy Act. The law prohibits foreign-based subsidiaries of U.S. companies from trading with Cuba. In addition, U.S. citizens are prohibited from traveling to Cuba, and family remittances to Cuba are banned. However, the law allows private groups to deliver food and medicine to Cuba.

1994

New wave of Cuban refugees. Thirty thousand refugees set sail from Cuba as economic conditions continue to deteriorate. President Clinton allows entry into the United States for about 12,000, but in a shift of U.S. policy he orders the rest repatriated to Cuba.

1996

Cuba shoots down two U.S. civilian aircraft. The Cuban Air Force shoots down two unarmed Cesnas flying over international waters near Cuba, killing four people. The planes were on a mission for "Brothers to the Rescue," a Cuban-American rescue group aiding Cuban refugees and advocating the overthrow of the Castro regime. The shoot-down exacerbates U.S.–Cuban relations and precipitates passage of the Helms-Burton Act.

1996

Congress passes Helms-Burton Act. The law allows American citizens to sue foreign investors who make use of American property seized by the Cuban government. The law also provides for the denial of U.S. visas to those who "traffic" in such property.

1996

President suspends enforcement of Helms-Burton provisions. Fearing retaliatory trade sanctions from the Europeans, Canadians, and others, President Clinton suspends the law's provisions against foreigners doing business in Cuba.

1996

Economic conditions improve in Cuba. The Castro regime loosens its control of Cuba's centralized economy and allows for some small-scale capitalist activity. It also encourages new foreign investment and the promotion of the tourist trade. Despite the continuing U.S. embargo, the Cuban economy expands greatly throughout the year.

1997

President again suspends enforcement of Helms-Burton provisions Working to avoid a public confrontation with U.S. trade partners, President Clinton once again suspends the law's provisions against foreigners doing business in Cuba. Instead, the president says he wants to build a "common approach to advancing democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms in Cuba,"

1997

U.S. news organizations allowed to operate in Cuba. Also in February, President Clinton permits ten U.S. news organizations to open bureaus in Cuba. The Cuban government grants rights to one, the Cable News Network (CNN).
(snip/)

http://www.closeup.org/cuba.htm#timeline

By the way, the U.S. did NOT "create Cuba." Outlandish, of course!

[Judi Lynn]

35. Wow! Glad you indicated the first timeline wasn't up to your standards. Here's a better one!

1508 Sebastián de Ocampo circumnavigates Cuba, confirming that it is an island.
1510 Spanish set out from Hispaniola. The conquest of Cuba begins.
1511 Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar leads a group of settlers in Baracoa.
1512 Indigenous Cuban resistance leader Hatuey is burned at the stake.
1514 Havana founded.
1523 Emperor Charles V authorises 4,000 gold pesos for the construction of cotton mills.
1527 First African Slaves arrive in Cuba.
1532 First Slave rebellion is crushed.
1537 French fleet briefly occupy Havana.
1538 Governor of Cuba relocates to Havana.
1538 Slave rebellion comprising of African and indigenous slaves is crushed.
1538 French corsairs blockade Santiago de Cuba
1542 Spanish crown abandons the encomienda colonial land settlement system.
1546 French corsairs plunder Baracoa
1555 French campaign against the Spanish in the Caribbean leads to the sack of Havana
1586 English privateer Francis Drake lands at Cape San Antonio but doesn't attack
1597 The Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro Morro Castle (fortress), is completed above the eastern entrance to the Havana harbor.

1600s
1603 Authorities decree that the sale of tobacco to foreigners is punishable by death.
1607 Havana officially named capital of Cuba.
1628 Dutch fleet led by Piet Heyn plunders the Spanish fleet in Havana harbor
1649 Epidemic kills a third of the island's population.
1662 English fleet captained by Christopher Myngs captures Santiago de Cuba to open up trade with neighbouring Jamaica
1670 English retreat after the Spain recognises England's ownership of Jamaica.
1670 Francisco Rodríguez de Ledesma becomes Governor of Cuba. He serves for ten years.

1700s
1728 The University of Havana is founded.
1741 British Admiral Edward Vernon captures Guantánamo Bay, renaming it Cumberland Bay, during the War of Jenkins' Ear. His troops are resisted by local guerrilla forces and withdraw.
1734 Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas Gordón de Saenz de Villamolinedo begins a 12 year tenure as Governor of Cuba.
1747 Francisco Antonio Cagigal de la Vega begins a 13 year tenure as Governor of Cuba.
1748 October 12 Battle of Havana. Skirmishes between the British and Spanish fleets in Havana harbor.
1748 Construction of Havana cathedral completed.
1762 March 5 English expedition secretly leaves Portsmouth to capture Havana.
1762 July 30 British troops occupy Havana during Seven Years' War.
1763 British reach agreement with the Spanish to trade Cuba in return for Florida.
1793 Slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue (which was to become the Haitian revolution) brings the first of 30,000 white refugees to Cuba.
1799 Salvador de Muro y Salazar becomes Governor of Cuba 1799-1812

1800s
1812 Juan Ruíz de Apodaca becomes governor of Cuba 1812-16.
1843 Leopoldo O'Donnell, Duke of Tetuan becomes governor of Cuba 1843-48.
1844 An uprising of black slaves brutally suppressed.
1853 January 28 José Julián Martí Pérez born in Havana.
1866-77 First war of Cuban independence. Also known as the Ten Years' War.
1868 October 10 , Revolutionaries under the leadership of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes proclaims Cuban independence.
1866-78 First war of Cuban independence. Also known as the Ten Years' War.
1878 February 8, Pact of Zanjón ends Ten Years' War and ends uprising.
1879 August, A second uprising ("The Little War"), engineered by Calixto García, begins but is quelled by superior Spanish forces in autumn 1880.
1886 Slavery abolished
1890 February, José Sánchez Gómez becomes provisional Governor of Cuba.
1895 23 February Mounting discontent culminated in a resumption of the Cuban revolution, under the leadership of the writer and patriot José Martí and General Máximo Gómez y Báez. Also known as the
1895 May 19 José Martí killed in battle with Spanish troops at the Battle of Dos Ríos.
1895 September, Arsenio Martínez Campos is governor of Cuba until January
1898 June 6th–10th Invasion of Guantánamo Bay American and Cuban forces invade the strategically and commercially important area of Guantanamo Bay during the Spanish-American war.
1898 March 17, U.S. Senator, and former War Secretary Redfield Proctor protests against Spanish controlled concentration camps
1898 December 10, Treaty of Peace in Paris ends the Spanish-American War by which Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba.
1899 January 1, The Spanish colonial government withdraw and the last captain General Alfonso Jimenez Castellano hands over power to the North American Military Governor, General John Ruller Brooke.
1899 December 23 Leonard Wood becomes US Provisional Governor of Cuba

1900s
1901 March 2, Platt Amendment passed in the U.S. stipulating the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops, assuring U.S. control over Cuban affairs.
1902 May 20 The Cuban republic is instituted under the presidency of Tomás Estrada Palma.
1906 September 29 U.S. troops reoccupy Cuba under William Howard Taft.
1906 October 13 Charles Magoon becomes U.S. governor of Cuba
1909 January 28 Cuba returns to homerule. José Miguel Gómez of the Liberal Party becomes president.
1913 May 20 Mario García Menocal presidency begins.
1917 April 7 Cuba enters World War I on the side of the Allies.
1921 May 20 Alfredo Zayas becomes president.
1925 May 20 Gerard Machado becomes president.
1926 August 13 Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz born in the province of Holguín.
1928 June 14 Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Che Guevara) born in Rosario, Argentina.
1933 September 4 "Sergeants' Revolt" organized by Fulgencio Batista ends Machado dominance.
1935 May 8 Leading radical politician Antonio Guiteras is assassinated.
1941 December Cuban government declare war on Germany, Japan, and Italy.
1943 Soviet embassy created in Havana.

1950s
1951 August 15 Eduardo Chibás, leader of the Ortodoxo party and mentor of Fidel Castro commits suicide on live radio.
1952 March Former president Batista, supported by the army, seizes power.
1953 July 26 Some 160 revolutionaries under the command of Fidel Castro launch an attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba.
1953 October 16 Fidel Castro makes "History Will Absolve Me" speech in his own defense against the charges brought on him after the attack on the Moncada Barracks.
1954 September Che Guevara arrives in Mexico City.
1954 November Batista dissolves parliament and is elected constitutional president without opposition.
1955 May Fidel and surviving members of his movement are released from prison under an amnesty from Batista.
1955 June Brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro are introduced to Che Guevara in Mexico City.
1956 November 25 Fidel Castro, with some 80 insurgents including Raúl Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos set sail from Mexico for Cuba on the yacht Granma.
1956 December 2 Granma lands in Oriente Province.
1957 January 17, Castro's guerrillas score their first success by sacking an army outpost on the south coast, and started gaining followers in both Cuba and abroad.
1957 March 13, University students mount an unsuccessful attack on the Presidential Palace in Havana.
1957 May 28 1957, Castro's 26th July movement overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
1957 July 30 Cuban revolutionary Frank País is killed in the streets of Santiago de Cuba by police while campaigning for the overthrow of Batista government.

1958
1958 February Raúl Castro opens a front in the Sierra de Cristal on Oriente's north coast.
1958 March 13 U.S. suspends shipments of arms to Batista's forces.
1958 March 17 Castro calls for a general revolt.
1958 April 9 A general strike, organized by the 26th of July movement, is partially observed.
1958 May Batista sends an army of 10,000 into the Sierra Maestra to destroy Castro's 300 armed guerrillas. By August, the rebels had defeated the army's advance and captured a huge amount of arms.
1958 November 1 A Cubana aircraft en route from Miami to Havana is hijacked by militants but crashes. The hijackers were trying to land at Sierra Cristal in Eastern Cuba to deliver weapons to Raúl Castro's rebels. It is the first of what was to become many Cuba-U.S. hijackings<1>
1958 December Guevara directs a rebel attack on Santa Clara
1958 December 28 Guevara's guerrilla troops seize Santa Clara.
1958 December 31 Camilo Cienfuegos leads revolutionary guerrillas to victory in Yaguajay.

1959
1959 January 1 President Batista resigns and flees the country. Fidel Castro's column enters Santiago de Cuba.
1959 January 2 Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos arrive in Havana.
1959 January 5 Manuel Urrutia named President of Cuba
1959 January 8 Fidel Castro arrives at Havana, speaks to crowds at Camp Columbia.
1959 February 16 Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba.
1959 April 20 Fidel Castro speaks at Princeton University, New Jersey.<2>
1959 May 17 The Cuban government enacts the Agrarian Reform Law which limits land ownership to 1,000 acres and expropriates all other land.
1959 July 17 Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado becomes President of Cuba, replacing Manuel Urrutia who resigns over disagreements with Fidel Castro. Dorticós serves until 2 December 1976
1959 October 28 Plane carrying Camilo Cienfuegos disappears during a night flight from Camagüey to Havana. He is presumed dead.
1959 December 11, Trial of revolutionary Huber Matos begins. Matos is found guilty of "treason and sedition".

1960s

1960
1960 March 4, the freighter La Coubre a 4,310-ton French vessel carrying 76 tons of Belgian munitions explodes while it being unloaded in Havana harbor.
1960 March 17, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower orders CIA director Allen Dulles to train Cuban-exiles for a covert invasion of Cuba.
1960 July 5 All U.S. businesses and commercial property in Cuba is nationalized at the direction of the Cuban government.
1960 October 19, U.S. imposes embargo prohibiting all exports to Cuba except foodstuffs and medical supplies.
1960 October 31, nationalization of all U.S. property is completed.
1960 December 26, Operation Peter Pan (Operación Pedro Pan) begins, an operation transporting 14,000 children of parents opposed to the new government. The scheme continues until U.S. airports are closed to Cuban flights during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

1961
1961 January 1, Cuban government initiate national literacy scheme.
1961 April 15, Bay of Pigs invasion
1961 US Trade embargo on Cuba.

1962
1962 January 31 Cuba expelled from the OAS.
1962 August 17, CIA Director John McCone suggests that the Soviet Union is constructing offensive missile installations in Cuba.
1962 August 29, At a news conference, President Kennedy tells reporters: "I'm not for invading Cuba at this time...an action like that...could lead to very serious consequences for many people."

Central Havana1962 August 31, President Kennedy is informed that the August 29 U-2 mission confirms the presence of surface-to-air missile batteries in Cuba.
1962 October 16, McGeorge Bundy informs President Kennedy that "hard photographic evidence" shows Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. Kennedy immediately gathers a group that becomes known as "ExComm", the Executive Committee of the National Security Council.
1962 October 22, President Kennedy addresses the U.S.
1962 October 23, U.S. establishes air and sea blockade in response to photographs of Soviet missile bases under construction in Cuba. U.S. threatens to invade Cuba if the bases are not dismantled and warns that a nuclear attack launched from Cuba would be considered a Soviet attack requiring full retaliation.
1962 October 28, Khrushchev agrees to remove offensive weapons from Cuba and the U.S. agrees to remove missiles from Turkey and promises not to invade Cuba.
1962 November 21 U.S. ends Cuban blockade, satisfied that all bases are removed and Soviet jets will leave the island by December 20.

1963-69
1963 October 2nd Agrarian reform.
1963 November Compulsory military service introduced.
1964 OAS enforce embargo against Cuba.
1965 October 3, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI) become the governing Communist Party of Cuba.
1967 October 9 Che Guevara executed in La Higuera, Bolivia
1968 March all private bars and restaurants are finally closed down.

1970s
1972 Cuba becomes a member of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON).
1975 July OAS lift the trade embargo and other sanctions.
1974 Maternity leave bill introduced by the Cuban government.
1975 The Soviet Union engages in a massive airlift of Cuban forces into Angola.
1975 The Family Code bill establishes the official goal of equal participation in the home.
1976 March South African forces backing the UNITA rebel force withdraw from Angola. It is regarded as a victory for Cuban forces.
1976 October 6 Two timebombs destroy Cubana Flight 455 departing from Barbados, via Trinidad, to Cuba. Evidence implicated several CIA-linked anti-Castro Cuban exiles and members of the Venezuelan secret police DISIP.
1976 December 2 Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba.
1977 January 1 Political and administrative division divides Cuba into fourteen provinces, 168 municipalities and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
1977 May 50 Cuban military personnel sent to Ethiopia.
1979 October 21, Huber Matos is released from prison having served out his full term. He was reunited in Costa Rica with his wife and children, who had left Cuba in 1963, and moved to Miami.

1980s
1980 April Mariel Boat Lift. Cuban Government announces that anyone wishing to leave Cuba may depart by boat from Mariel port, prompting an exodus of up to 125,000 people to the U.S.
1980 June 7 U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders Justice department to expel Cubans who have committed "serious crimes" in Cuba.
1983 October 25 United States invade the island of Grenada and also clash with Cuban troops.
1984 Cuba reduce its troop strength in Ethiopia to approximately 3,000 from 12,000.
1987 Law #62 on the Penal Code introduced recognising discrimination based on any reason and the violation of the right of equality as a crime.
1989 12 July, Prominent general in the Cuban armed forces Arnaldo Ochoa is executed after allegations of involvement in drug smuggling.
1989 September 17 The last Cuban troops leave Ethiopia.

1990s
1990 March 23, U.S. launch TV Marti
1991 May Cuba remove all troops from Angola.
1992 July National Assembly of Cuba passes the Constitutional Reform Law allowing for direct elections to the assembly by the Cuban people every five years.<3>
1993 November 6, Cuban government announce it is opening state enterprises to private investment.
1996 February, Cuban authorities arrest or detain at least 150 dissidents, marking the most widespread crackdown on opposition groups in the country since the early 1960s.
1996 March 12. The Helms-Burton Act, which extends the U.S. embargo against Cuba to foreign companies is passed.
1998 January 21, Pope John Paul II becomes the first Pope to visit the island.
1999 Christian anti-abortion activist Oscar Elías Biscet is detained by Cuban police for organizing meetings in Havana and Matanzas.
1999 November 5, 6 year old Elián González is found in the Straits of Florida clinging to an inner tube.

2000s
2000 December 14 Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Cuba and signs accords aimed at boosting bilateral ties.
2001 January 1 Cuba celebrates the beginning of the millennium a year later than the majority of the western world. Official government line asserts that: "the second millennium and the 20th century are considered to end on 31 December of the year 2000." <4>
2001 June 23, Fidel Castro faints during a televised speech.
2002 January, Russia's last military base in Cuba, at Lourdes, closes down.
2002 May 6, US Under Secretary of State John Bolton accuses Cuba of trying to develop biological weapons, adding the country to Washington's list of "axis of evil" countries.
2002 May 12, Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter becomes the first U.S. president past or present to visit Cuba. He praises the Varela project and criticizes the U.S. embargo.
2003 April Cuban government arrest 78 writers and dissidents blaming U.S. provocation and interference from James Cason, the chief of the United States Interests Section in Havana.
2004 November 8, Ban on transactions in US dollars, and imposition of 10% tax on dollar-peso conversions introduced.
2005 May 20, Around 200 dissidents hold a public meeting, said by organisers to be the first such gathering since the 1959 revolution.<5>
2005 July 7 Hurricane Dennis causes widespread destruction and leaves 16 people dead.
2006 July 31, Raúl Castro assumes presidential duties as Fidel Castro recovers from an emergency operation.
(snip/)

http://www.answers.com/topic/timeline-of-cuban-history-1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn't read too many entries, but I don't think you'll find anything in there to confirm the U.S. "created Cuba." I feel confident you won't.

[ohio2007]

36. .ok....now bring me a latte, no sugar but a splash of milk

and a brief history of the coffee bean :)

[Judi Lynn]

37. Maybe some Cuban Coffee from Miami's Little Havana, & a Cuban sandwich.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/02/cubans_wideweb__470x346,0.jpg

[anotherdrew]

19. no it won't - why would they even want to sell us drop one of their oil?

or involve us in any way? we've made our bed, let our oilgarcs lie in it.

[lovuian]

20. We will change our tune when it comes to oil

we will ship it to canada and buy it that way

[ProudDad]

22. My hope is that the presence of oil

won't cause Cuba to abandon their remarkable progress in the direction of petroleum free organic agriculture.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/cuba.htm
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr118h.htm
http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1994/11/mm1194_06.html

---------------------

When I was in Cuba in the darkest days of the "special period" in '93, there was a great story making the rounds <1>:

It has become apparent that global warming will finally cause the polar icecaps to melt. This will cause the oceans to cover most of the Earth's land with water in six months.

In Parliament, bush's poodle...uh, Tony Blair intones, "We shall go down defiant and strong as befits the great British Nation!"

In Washington, the shrub says, "in spite of the terroristic water we shall continue fighting the war on terror from our watery graves!"

In Havana, Fidel tells the Cuban Parliament, "Well folks, we've got 6 months to learn how to live underwater!"


<1> Brought up to date - 2007
-------------------

Believe me, this little story tells volumes about the Cuban spirit, the spirit of Socialismo that is such a refreshing contrast with the wild-west bullshit capitalist crap to which the U.S. and Britain pay obeisance,

[Judi Lynn]

24. Love that third link, ProudDad, for emphasizing material most people don't see ordinarily.

From the article:

HAVANA - Times are changing in the Cuban countryside. Since September 1993, all state farms, which once occupied 80 percent of the nation's farmland, have been privatized. They are now employee-owned shareholder enterprises. Farmers' markets - an experiment in free-market pricing that was initiated and then quickly abandoned in the 1980s - have been re-opened to rave reviews from the populace. And, suddenly organic farming has become the norm in a country that prided itself on the most industrialized, chemical-intensive agricultural sector in Latin America.

The driving force in these changes has been economic crisis. Since the 1989 collapse of trading relations with the former socialist bloc, imports of agrochemicals have dropped by more than 80 percent. Tractors are idle for lack of spare parts and petroleum, and the government is searching desperately for ways to provide incentives so that farmers will up their food production in the face of these difficulties. Yet in the midst of crisis, something is happening with positive implications that reach far beyond Cuban shores.

Cuban Agriculture in Perspective

From the Cuban revolution in 1959 through the collapse of trading relations with the socialist bloc at the end of the 1980s, Cuba's economic development was characterized by rapid modernization, a high degree of social welfare and equity, and strong external dependency. While it ranked high on most quality of life indicators, Cuba depended upon its socialist trading partners for petroleum, industrial equipment and supplies, agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides, and foodstuffs. Possibly as much as 57 percent of the total calories consumed by the population came from foreign suppliers.

Cuban agriculture was based on large-scale, capital-intensive mono-culture, more similar in many ways to the Central Valley of California than to the typical Latin American small-scale farm. More than 90 percent of fertilizers and pesticides, or the ingredients to make them, were imported from abroad. This demonstrates the degree of dependency exhibited by this style of farming, and the vulnerability of the island's economy to international market forces. When trade relations with the socialist bloc collapsed, pesticides and fertilizers virtually disappeared, and the availability of petroleum for agriculture dropped by half. Food imports also fell by more than a half. Suddenly, an agricultural system almost as modern and industrialized as that of California was faced with a three-pronged challenge: to essentially double food production while more than halving inputs - and at the same time maintaining export crop production so as not to further erode the country's desperate foreign exchange position.

The result is that Cuba is currently undergoing a conversion from modern conventional agriculture to organic or semi-organic farming. The government has adopted a strategy of mobilizing Cuba's substantial scientific infrastructure - both physical plant and human resources - to substitute native technology for the no longer available inputs. Thus, farmers are combining what the Cubans call biopesticides and biofertilizers (Cuban- made microbial pesticides and fertilizers that are non-toxic to humans) with earthworm culture, waste recycling, biological pest control, composting and other ecologically rational practices in an attempt to avert a catastrophic shortfall of food availability for the population. At the same time, government planners are creating the smaller scale management units that are essential for effective organic farming, and providing ownership incentives to farmers. Government officials hope that in combination with the freeing of prices, these steps will lead to higher yields and less diversion to the black market.
(snip)-

http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1994/11/mm1194_06.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for sharing the facts which have been missing from Americans' general knowledge about Cuba. This is surely a BIG look at information which contradicts the propaganda.



http://www.cosg.org.uk/greencuba.htm

http://cubamigo.org/images/vegstore,jpg.jpg

http://cubamigo.org/webcuba/agriculture.html

[Judi Lynn]

32. U.S. should engage Cuba's next leaders

U.S. should engage Cuba's next leaders
By DeWayne Wickham

More than six months after Cuban President Fidel Castro “temporarily” ceded power to his brother, Raul, this country appears to be running on autopilot.

Tourists from Canada and Europe fill the rooms of upscale hotels in the Old Havana section of Cuba's capital. At night, there are few empty seats at restaurants in the once-fashionable neighborhoods of Vedado and Miramar.

The Galiano shopping district in central Havana has a steady flow of Cubans. Some have money to spend in the “dollar stores” that offer high-priced consumer goods. But most are there simply to window shop or buy whatever they can afford in the poorly stocked pesos stores where most Cubans shop.

The food shortages, the power blackouts, the desire for a better conditions and the widespread disdain among Cubans for the long-running American economic embargo are all part of the matrix of life in this country.
The Cuban people are a resilient lot. Despite all that ails their country — and the list is long — they have life expectancy and literacy rates equal to those in the United States, and a lower infant mortality rate, according to the 2007 CIA World Factbook.

Castro, the world's longest ruling head of government, may be in failing health, but that hasn't put this nation in a tailspin, as many in Washington and Miami had hoped. Cuba's government is in transition. But for most of the country's 11.4 million people, Castro's slow exit from power has brought few changes.

While the Bush administration has created a commission to plot how to “hasten” Cuba's transition to a democracy, Cuban leaders call that effort wishful thinking — and political pandering to Cuban Americans.

“The Cuban revolution is completely transcendental,” Ruben Remigio Ferro, the head of Cuba's Supreme Court, told me. “The revolution is bigger than Fidel. It won't end when Fidel's life ends.”
(snip/...)

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/OPINION02/703030313

On edit, also from the same article:

While media organizations routinely cover the few Cubans who steal away in small boats for the United States, they fail to report on the thousands allowed to fly into exile each year under an immigration accord reached between the two countries in the early 1990s.

This warped coverage allows politicians in Washington — and Cuban activists in Miami — to demonize Castro's regime. And with a leadership change in Cuba looming, it's allowed them to delude Americans into believing the Bush administration has a role to play in this transition.
(snip)