The Evolution of an Embargo
U.S. policy toward Cuba has been a work in progress for nearly five decades. The result is a thicket of restrictions erected by Republicans and Democrats alike.
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Eisenhower
Institutes an embargo on U.S.-Cuban trade (except for agricultural products and medicine) after Castro's new regime nationalizes Cuban businesses in 1960.
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Kennedy
Signs the Foreign Assistance Act, which codifies Ike's embargo and expands it to cover goods made in other countries that include Cuban products.
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Carter
Drops the ban on Americans traveling to Cuba and vice versa. But Castro sets back relations by sending prisoners to the U.S. in the Mariel boatlift of 1980.
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Reagan
Reinstates the travel ban, tightens the embargo, and begins the broadcast of anti-Castro Radio Martí into Cuba.
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Clinton
Loosens travel restrictions but also signs the Helms-Burton Act, which imposes penalties on foreign companies doing business in Cuba and permits U.S. citizens to sue foreign investors who make use of American-owned property seized by the Cuban government.
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Bush
Cracks down further on trade with the island, canceling many medical sales and barring virtually all travel to Cuba.
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