#6 Fidel Castro

  The U.S. Should Lift the               Embargo on Cuba 

I thought I would post my argumentative essay that I wrote for class. I have been obsessed with Cuba and Fidel Castro this semester. It started because I read in the New York Times about the US pulling out diplomats from Havana due to illness. It's super interesting to me how history can shape political ties fifty, a hundred or a thousand years after the fact. 

Amanda Grace Baugh Smith
Professor Steadman
English 312 Persuasive Writing

31 October, 2017

The U.S. Should Lift the Embargo on Cuba

The word “complicated” only begins to describe U.S. relations with Cuba. Relations between these two countries have taken shape over the last century and are still hotly debated especially with recent events like the mysterious health attacks suffered by U.S. diplomats. Their histories have been intertwined since colonial times largely because of close proximity. Their disputes have become monumental and far reaching with the Cuban Missile Crisis bringing the world closer to nuclear war than ever before. The U.S. pursued isolationist policies for decades after the rise of the Castro regime but communism in Cuba still holds strong. The U.S. has since reestablished ties and explored two different policy options: isolationism and engagement. The ultimate U.S. goal is to bring human rights to the island. To achieve that goal, The United States should lift the embargo and travel restrictions on Cuba because it hurts the Cuban people, harms the U.S. economy and restricts the rights of U.S. citizens to travel abroad. Increased interaction will increase influence and presumably lead Cuba towards democracy and better human rights.

A History

To understand U.S.-Cuban relations today, one must first have a basic understanding of Cuba as a nation. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, set 90 miles (Chasteen) off the coast of the state of Florida. It was formerly a Spanish Colony and largely because of this influence its people are primarily Roman Catholic, with some practicing Afro-Cuban religions. Their leader, Fidel Castro was an avid atheist but declared Cuba a secular state in 1992. (Staten) Cuba has a mixed population of, "51 percent mulatto (mix of European and African), 37 percent white, 11 percent black and 1 percent Chinese.” (Staten) Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother, Raul Castro in 2006.  Raul Castro continues to rule after his brother’s passing in 2016, almost ten years after transferring power.

The deep history that binds these two countries together gives a better understanding of why relations would be poor today. The Castro regime came to power in the era of the Cold War that pitted the United States of America against the Soviet Union, in a battle of Democracy versus Communism. Fidel Castro came to power on January 8^th, 1959 when he entered Havana (Depalma) to overthrow the former U.S. backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista. (Chasteen) Castro had never been aligned with the communist party before the revolution. However, when he gave a televised speech expressing his vision of change for Cuba, the Marxist influence was obvious. (BIBF) Castro was not shy about opposing what he saw as U.S. imperialistic rule. He gave a speech at the U.N. against U.S. imperialism, met with prominent critics of US policy and acquired Soviet oil, which U.S.-owned refineries would refuse to process. (Chasteen) From this moment on, these nations with only 90 miles separating them were destined to be rivals.

The United States, strongly against a communist country in their “backyard,” countered immediately by ending the sugar trade with Cuba which amounted to “three quarters of Cuba’s export revenue”. (BIBF) Cuba struck back by expropriating U.S. companies in Cuba. (BIBF) Relations deteriorated until Fidel Castro demanded that embassy staff be greatly reduced from a staff of 60 to a meager 18 in just 48 hours. (Depalma) President Eisenhower, frustrated and upset, decided instead to pull out all diplomats, close the embassy and cut diplomatic ties. (Depalma)

Conflict continued to spiral out of control as Washington tried relentlessly to overthrow the Castro regime. Washington launched the humiliating Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. (Chasteen) The CIA trained and equipped the invasion meant to inspire revolt, but was promptly squashed by the Cuban army that was loyal to Castro. (Chasteen) The United States developed numerous assassination attempts on the life of Fidel Castro, even conspiring strange plots to make his beard fall out and therefore lose prestige and support. (Depalma) It was clear to Cuba that the U.S. was attempting to overthrow Castro and understandable that he would become paranoid of further attempts.

The world was shocked when on October 22^nd, 1962 John F. Kennedy announced that the Soviet Union had placed missiles in Cuba, information known thanks to CIA reconnaissance photos. (Sweig) The U.S. ordered a military blockade surrounding the island to prevent further missiles from arriving, a strategic move that Castro perceived to be an act of war. (Sweig) The crisis lasted 13 days, with the U.S. and the Soviet Union reaching an agreement through back channels. (Sweig) The deal was made without Cuba’s participation or knowledge. (Sweig) The Soviet Union would remove its’ missiles from Cuba and the U.S. agreed to remove missiles stationed at a U.S. base in Turkey that were directed at the Soviet Union several months later. The U.S. concessions were to happen quietly without public discussion about this part of the deal. This way, both sides could proclaim victory at home. As for Cuba, the Soviet Union urged the U.S. to sign an accord with the United Nations acknowledging that the U.S. would, “respect the inviolability of Cuban borders, [respect] its sovereignty” as well as not invade Cuba. (Sweig) No accord was ever signed, however, the principle was understood and more or less respected.

The outcome of U.S. intervention did more to bolster support for Fidel Castro than to deter it. The Bay of Pigs invasion, assassination attempts and very loose resolutions not to invade Cuba led to paranoia and increased support for the regime. Cuba had good reason to be worried, after so many attempts to topple the regime. Experts say that these attempts gave Castro a way to, “justify domestic repression and growing ties with the Soviet Union as requirements for national survival against an implacable enemy.” (Sweig) It’s possible that the very policies made by the U.S. to isolate and topple the regime only served to strengthen it.
embargo stays  

Reestablishing ties

Barrack Obama made history on December 17^th, 2014, when he gave an unforgettable speech announcing the reestablishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba. (Obama) These ties have been severed since January of 1961, more than half a decade ago. (Obama) Obama had wanted to reestablish ties ever since entering office but was not able to due to as he states, "the wrongful imprisonment, in Cuba, of a U.S. citizen and USAID sub-contractor Alan Gross.” (Obama) Mr. Gross had been imprisoned for five years and negotiations for his release were long, with Pope Francis even stepping in to advocate for his release and cooperation on both sides. (Obama) There was also a second prisoner, an unnamed intelligence agent, who had been in jail for almost two decades in Cuba. (Obama) Both men were released and back on American soil at the time of the speech. In return, the U.S. released three Cuban agents who had been imprisoned in the U.S. for over 15 years. (Obama)

The speech went on to outline the new initiatives the U.S. and Cuba would pursue to reestablish political ties. It called for the reestablishment of embassies in the capitals of both nations, Washington D.C. and Havana. It also indicated that the U.S. would review Cuba as being on a list of nations to support terrorism, which had limited its international trade. (Obama) It further removed the limit of remittances, money sent to Cuba by American citizens, to Cuba. (Obama) Barack Obama pioneered this initiative to recreate ties after decades of isolationist policies. President Obama gave reason for the change, stating "In the most significant changes in our policy in more than fifty years, we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.” (Obama) Obama highlights that this was a new directive, something that has never been done before. The previous policies were unable to topple the regime or encourage improved human rights. They are still a communistic government known for their human rights violations with the same regime that has ruled for over 50 years.

Tightening Isolationist Restrictions

            President Barrack Obama has since left office and the new president Donald Trump was quick to change policies to fullfill his campaign promises. His policy kept most of the provisions of the previous administration, only adding two restrictive measures. First, the travel restrictions already in place would have enhanced enforcement. This means that U.S. citizens can’t travel to Cuba for purely vacation purposes. However, Cuban-Americans could continue to visit family and send remittances. Secondly, a new economic policy was put in place to channel economic activities towards the private sector and away from the Grupo de Administacion Empresarial (GAESA), the regimes military organization. The policy ends in clarifying that to further enhance U.S.-Cuban relations, the Cuban government must improve the lives of their people, including by “promoting the rule of law, respecting human rights, and taking concrete steps to foster political and economic freedoms.” (The White House) Although not a complete reversal, these policies serve to isolate and discourage free trade and travel that would otherwise help the Cuban people.

Embassy Health Attacks

In recent events, the New York Times reported that U.S. diplomats have become sick with headaches, dizziness and hearing loss. (Semple) The “mysterious attack” has affected twenty-one diplomats. (Harris) These diplomats became sick in late 2016, Cuban officials were made aware of it in February. (Semple) Two Cuban diplomats were expelled from Washington in May reportedly because Cuba hadn’t fulfilled its obligation in keeping U.S. diplomats safe. (Semple) The Department of State is adamant that it does not believe the Cuban government was involved. This is believed due to the fact that one Canadian diplomat was also targeted and it is well known that Canada has wonderful relations with Cuba. However, the embassy has been reduced to meager staff of twenty-seven diplomats and marine corps personnel. (Harris)

Although the origins of the attacks are unknown, it has affected U.S.-Cuban relations negatively. It’s possible the attacks are coming from a third party actor, such as an extremist group or other nations that could have an interest in reversing policy. It would be devastating to both sides to allow third-party meddling to reverse progress in relations. After coming so far, the U.S. must continue to push for increased Human Rights while still pursuing U.S. interests.  

Human Rights

            Isolationist policies are intended to promote human rights on the island by impoverishing the nation until collapse or subsequently pressuring the government to make changes in order to do business. Cuba has not made changes and has been criticized for its lack of human rights. The Human Rights Watch organization reports that the Cuban government continues to, “repress dissent and discourage public criticism.” Cuba uses repressive tactics such as imprisonment, public shaming, beatings and the termination of employment to consolidate power. Although 53 political prisoners were released upon the agreement with the United States to normalize relations, many more remain. Cuba refuses access to its prisons to independent human rights groups, making it difficult to know the scope of the situation. Cuban citizens do not have the right to due process or freedom of speech. Access to the internet is restricted and too expensive for most.  Travel can still be restricted despite reforms put in place in January 2013 that, “eliminated the need for an exit visa to leave the island.” Cubans are also not allowed to move freely inside the country, with a 1997 law created to prevent migration to Havana especially by dissidents. The embargo has not been effective in deterring human rights violations but instead on hurting the Cuban people.  (Cuba)

Hurting the Cuban People

First, the Cuban people are being harmed by the embargo because part of the embargo severely restricts food and medical supplies. A study done by The American Association for World Health reported the following:

After a year-long investigation, the American Association for World Health has determined that the U.S. embargo of Cuba has dramatically harmed the health and nutrition of large numbers of ordinary Cuban citizens. As documented by the attached report, it is our expert medical opinion that the U.S. embargo has caused a significant rise in suffering-and even deaths-in Cuba. (Bourne)

By enforcing these restrictions, not only the government suffers but also the repressed people of Cuba. The embargo also restricts ships having docked in Cuba from docking in the U.S. for 180 days. This has strongly discouraged trade from other countries. The report continues to relay that humanitarian aid efforts are a poor substitution for free trade. 

Harms U.S. economy

The U.S. embargo has been costly for both sides, stunting free trade between two relatively close markets. Cuba has reported that the embargo has cost them $1.1 trillion over five decades. (Al Jazeera) Opening the Cuban market would give opportunities to U.S. farmers and the private sector. It would bring jobs to the U.S. and to Cuba. Diplomatic ties have been restored, something that usually comes after major embargos are lifted. The U.S. should continue its drive in the right direction to reestablish normal ties, especially after the Cold War is long gone. It’s also hypocritical of the U.S. to restrict American citizen’s rights to trade and travel to supposedly promote human rights.

The United States should lift the embargo to encourage free trade. Nothing promotes democracy like free trade. By promoting free trade and engagement, the U.S. can promote American values. President Barrack Obama addressed this potential path in policy by saying:

"Now, where we disagree, we will raise those differences directly -– as we will continue to do on issues related to democracy and human rights in Cuba.  But I believe that we can do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values through engagement.  After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked.  It’s time for a new approach."

This approach would serve to promote democracy through free trade, while not forgetting the human rights abuses that so many Americans want to fight for. Isolationist policies have not been successful, like the embargo that served to isolate and topple the government by depriving the country of trade not only from the U.S., but also its close allies. However, Castro’s rule outlived five U.S. presidents and the revolution is still in control through his brother, Raul Castro, to this day. The embargo has even caused disputes with Canada and some European Countries that choose to keep close ties with the island. (Staten) Some may argue that if the U.S. were to lift the embargo, it would make the superpower look weak, after giving up on a long time policy. It would be more beneficial for the U.S. to abandon the embargo and look weak than to look foolish to the world community for chasing a failing policy. Just like U.S. intervention during the Cold War, the embargo has only served to give the regime reason to demonize the U.S. for what it’s done to Cuba, in essence Cuban dissidents say it, “gives Castro a scapegoat for his own economic mismanagement." (Staten)

Conclusion

            These two nations have had a long history together of intervention, invasion and near nuclear war. Reestablishing diplomatic ties was the first step in settling other major issues like the embargo. The United States of America should lift the embargo because of its negative impact on the Cuban people, both nation’s economies and the hope that engagement, not isolationism will influence the Cuban government to move towards enhanced human rights and democracy.