29 October 2015

U.S. still maintains embargo on Cuba

The entire world opposes the unilateral U.S. embargo on Cuba. Well, except for the U.S. and Israel.
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Tuesday on a resolution calling on Washington to end its embargo on Cuba. 191 of 193 countries voted for the resolution — 99 percent of the member states.

For the 24th year in a row, the U.S. and its allies were the only nations to vote against the measure. For the 24th year in a row, the U.S. has utterly defied the will of the entire international community.

An embargo of sugar, oil, and weapons was first imposed on Cuba by President Eisenhower in 1960. In 1962, two years later, the Kennedy administration expanded the embargo to impede virtually all imports...

The Obama administration has often tried to differentiate itself from the Bush administration by appealing to rhetoric concerning international law. Yet votes like these prove such statements to be hollow. Behind the veneer of Obama’s emphasis on international rules and norms is the cold logic of empire: The U.S., as the global economic and military hegemon, will do what it wants, when it wants.
Perhaps a reader here can explain to me why this embargo continues to exist.  Presumably it involves corporate $$$$$$$$$.

Addendum.  Here is a succinct and informed explanation provided by reader Con:
The word "embargo" is used by the US government, but in Cuba and other Latin American states it is known (more accurately) as a "blockade". The blockade is in fact illegal under international law as it extends far beyond restricting trade between the US and Cuba, imposing harsh sanctions on those outside of the US who would dare to trade freely with Cuba (i.e. an "extra-territorial" measure). Companies have been fined and had assets expropriated and the legal rights infringed in all manner of ways. Canada even has a law which is aimed to circumvent the application of the relevant US extra-territorial law as it applies to Canada; the "Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act." 
The blockade began during the Cold War and was designed to isolate Cuba and damage its economy, in order to undermine its socialist government and return it to the US sphere of influence. It was initially very successful, with almost every other country in the Americas breaking relations with Cuba, the exceptions being Canada and Mexico. The blockade was aimed not only at the Cuban people, but implicitly at any other Latin American nation which might have opted for socialism.

Cuba survived by trading with the USSR and Eastern European trading bloc (the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, CMEA) and with China. After the collapse of the European socialist bloc, many supporters of the blockade had high hopes that the Cuban revolution would collapse, but instead it weathered the storm, and is now stronger than ever.

Over the decades the blockade has lost more and more ground in the rest of the Americas; and more generally, since the collapse of all the US-backed military regimes which were once so common, the prestige and political and military power of the US throughout the Americas has been eroded dramatically. Now it's the US which is isolated. Cuba has good diplomatic relations now with every other country in the Americas, and is increasingly connected to the wider Latin American economic system, and even, in some ways, a central component of it. Cuba is one of the main forces in the ALBA trading bloc that includes several countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean, and also has good trade links to Brazil. In recent years a submarine fibre optic cable linking Cuba and Jamaica to the South American mainland has broken the telecommunications blockade.

It has reached the point where the Obama administration has recognised the failure of their Cold War policy and are now negotiating an end to it. They have re-established diplomatic relations with the island, but the blockade is the biggest issue which needs to be resolved before relations are fully normalized. The other biggie being the illegal US military occupation of Guantanamo Bay, where they have a naval base, and the infamous prison camp and torture facility.

13 comments:

  1. "Strategic" oil reserves is the answer.
    Haiti is also severely affected by this illegal U.S. policy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not illegal for a country to determine its own policy despite what the international community would prefer. That's the point of being a sovereign nation. Do I agree with the embargo? No. I think it's stupid. But calling it 'illegal' when it's been put in place by our legitimate government is stretching things well past the point of truth.

      Delete
  2. So "allies of the US" = "Israel". That strikes me as a significant bad call on the part of the journalist.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's because when Cuba went socialist, they took property from Cubans, who fled to Florida. That political block has stopped chance of us normalizing relations until they get their assets back, which will never happen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Humbaba has it right. It's all about appeasing a bunch of right-wing ex-pats in Miami. Fortunately, they're almost all dead by now, and their kids and grandkids don't give a monkey's ass about Castro and his revolution. Someone tell the olds it's time to move on.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been to Cuba, have Cuban colleagues. The continuing cuban embargo is all about hard feelings from Cuban expatriates who still hope that they will get back pre-Castro Cuban holdings when the communist government falls. They are dreaming, and the increasing U.S. government work with Cuba is all about the fact that other countries are already taking advantage of theta market, while U.S. companies are missing opportunities. PeterW has it basically right. Things are changing as old expatriates die off and lose influence. Until then, they still are allowed to affect what is at best a tiny chunk of trade.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanx to all for the comments. I sort of understand the situation, but I can't see what leverage these people have over U.S. foreign policy. Does the President and/or Congress fear that if they lift the embargo that their party will then lose votes in Florida, which traditionally has been somewhat of a swing state in national elections?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suggest the 2000 US election demonstrates what happens if you miss a few Florida votes.

      Delete
  7. It's because the embargo got codified into law. It now takes a congressional majority to lift it. And we all know where that's going...http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/the-1996-incident-that-made-it-nearly-impossible-to-repeal-the-cuba-embargo/381107/

    ReplyDelete
  8. The word "embargo" is used by the US government, but in Cuba and other Latin American states it is known (more accurately) as a "blockade". The blockade is in fact illegal under international law as it extends far beyond restricting trade between the US and Cuba, imposing harsh sanctions on those outside of the US who would dare to trade freely with Cuba (i.e. an "extra-territorial" measure). Companies have been fined and had assets expropriated and the legal rights infringed in all manner of ways. Canada even has a law which is aimed to circumvent the application of the relevant US extra-territorial law as it applies to Canada; the "Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act" http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-29/page-3.html#h-7

    The blockade began during the Cold War and was designed to isolate Cuba and damage its economy, in order to undermine its socialist government and return it to the US sphere of influence. It was initially very successful, with almost every other country in the Americas breaking relations with Cuba, the exceptions being Canada and Mexico. The blockade was aimed not only at the Cuban people, but implicitly at any other Latin American nation which might have opted for socialism.

    Cuba survived by trading with the USSR and Eastern European trading bloc (the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, CMEA) and with China. After the collapse of the European socialist bloc, many supporters of the blockade had high hopes that the Cuban revolution would collapse, but instead it weathered the storm, and is now stronger than ever.

    Over the decades the blockade has lost more and more ground in the rest of the Americas; and more generally, since the collapse of all the US-backed military regimes which were once so common, the prestige and political and military power of the US throughout the Americas has been eroded dramatically. Now it's the US which is isolated. Cuba has good diplomatic relations now with every other country in the Americas, and is increasingly connected to the wider Latin American economic system, and even, in some ways, a central component of it. Cuba is one of the main forces in the ALBA trading bloc that includes several countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean, and also has good trade links to Brazil. In recent years a submarine fibre optic cable linking Cuba and Jamaica to the South American mainland has broken the telecommunications blockade.

    It has reached the point where the Obama administration has recognised the failure of their Cold War policy and are now negotiating an end to it. They have re-established diplomatic relations with the island, but the blockade is the biggest issue which needs to be resolved before relations are fully normalized. The other biggie being the illegal US military occupation of Guantanamo Bay, where they have a naval base, and the infamous prison camp and torture facility.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent, Con. I've inserted an Addendum in the post referring readers to your comment. After others have time to reply and discuss it, I'll probably move most of your text up to the post.

      Thank you!

      Delete
  9. Read Con's post, best summary I have read in a long time.

    The Cubanos are strong in Florida and being Cuba friendly makes it in practice impossible for you to win the electoral votes in a president race. The idea of a Cubaa friendly senator does not exist.

    ReplyDelete

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