Cuba- Past and Present John O’Rourke

Revolution Leader Fidel Castro Breaks Ties with U. S Revolution Leader Fidel Castro Breaks Ties with U.S. and Allies Himself with the Soviet Union After a few months of the U.S. welcoming the new “democratic” Cuba, Castro went against the 1952 military pact with the U.S.

Continued On January 3rd, 1961, The U.S. broke relations with Cuba. After this, Castro made his alliance with the Soviet Union formal.

Bay of Pigs Disaster In 1961, Cuban exiles invaded Cuba. They were backed up by the U.S. who provided them air support.

Continued April 17th, 1961, the landing of the Bay of Pigs finally took place. The Cuban invaders didn’t receive proper support & were attacked by the Cuban military.

Soviet-Missile Crisis In October of 1962, the Cuban Missile crisis began (against the U.S. and U.S.S.R). This all took place during the Cold War.

Continued On September 1st, 1977 the U.S established limited diplomatic ties with Cuba, making it easier for Cuban- Americans to visit the Island.

In Poor Health Castro Announces His Retirement At the age of 81, Castro declared that he was no longer good enough to run in the next parliamentary election.

Continued Cuban ruler since 1959, Fidel Castro announced official retirement in February of 2008. His reign of power lasted almost 50 years!

Cubans Begin to Win Small Freedoms In February 2008, Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.

Continued In July of 2010, Castro decided to finally release political prisoners that were held since a series of crackdowns on dissidents in 2003.

Cuba Takes Possible Steps Toward A New Leader Not Named Castro April 19th, 2011, Cuba had a change in their government. Jose Ramon Machado, was appointed to fill the second highest position in the Communist Party.

Continued It was the first time since 1959 that someone else besides the Castro brothers had power.

Pope Makes Long-Awaited Visited Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba on March 26th, 2012. It was the first papal trip since Pope John Paul II visited 14 years ago.

Continued Around 200,00 people attended the Mass in Santiago de Cuba, including people from as far as Miami. Many attendees claimed that they were forced to go by employers etc.

Exit Visa Requirement Is Dropped On October 16, 2012, the government announced that (starting in early 2013) Cubans would no longer need an exit visa when leaving the Country.

Continued On January 13th, 2013 a new policy fell into place; Cubans could leave the country on vacations or forever, however they needed a passport and a visa from the country that their going to.

Cuba Resumes Diplomatic Relations with the U.S. U.S. President Barack Obama said that the U.S. would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba, such as opening and embassy in Havana.

Continued Since 1961, the U.S. and Cuba hasn’t had any diplomatic relations between each other. The Pope held a meeting to help with negotiations between the two.

Changes in the Near Future For the U.S. and Cuba In order to ease “economic embargo”, the U.S. will send an ambassador to Cuba. After this Barack Obama said that the U.S. would ease up on travel restrictions.

Is this Good or Bad? I believe that this will be good for both the U.S. and Cuba. It will be easier to travel to visit relatives, it helps both countries benefit economically and it will enable easier communication throughout the world.