-
Beginning of Embargo
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. -
Partial Embargo
October 19. U.S. imposes a partial economic embargo on Cuba that excludes food and medicine. -
Larger Embargo
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. -
No traveling to Cuba
February 8. The Kennedy administration prohibits travel to Cuba and makes financial and commercial transactions with Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens. -
Bettering Relations
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. -
Emargo
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. -
Bringing Down Castro
President Bush signed Cuban Democracy Act into law, 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. Law allows groups to deliver food and medicine to Cuba. Many claim the Cuban Democracy Act is in violation of international law and UN's resolutions that food and medicine cannot be used as weapons in international conflicts. Says should "bring down Castro in weeks." -
UN Recommendation
November 2. The United Nations General Assembly recommends an end to the embargo for the fourth consecutive year -
Amedments
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, although implementation of these amendments is not immediate. -
Majority for Trade
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. -
Congress against Embargo
March 12. U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) introduce a bill in Congress (United States-Cuba Trade Act of 2003) that seeks to lift the embargo. -
Vessel Ban
U.S. President Bush signs Presidential Proclamation 7757, which bans vessels from traveling to Cuban ports from U.S. ports. -
Progress
The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approves an amendment that rolls back a rule issued by the Treasury Department last February that requires that Cuba pay for food imports from the U.S. before they leave port. The full House and Senate must approve the amendment before it becomes law. -
Travel
US Senator Michael B. Enzi introduces the "Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act" on the floor of the senate: "If you keep on doing what you have always been doing," he says, "you are going to wind up getting what you already got. …We are not hurting the Cuban government; we are hurting the Cuban people. …It is time for a different policy."
