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Propaganda Campagin
President Eisenhower approves a covert action plan against Cuba that includes the use of a "powerful propaganda campaign" designed to overthrow Castro. -
Ban on all trade
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. -
Foreign Assistance Act
The Foreign Assistance Act is amended to prohibit aid to "any country" that provides assistance to Cuba. -
Prohibited Travel
The Kennedy administration prohibits travel to Cuba and makes financial and commercial transactions with Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens. -
End of Travel ban?
Less than one month after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy seeks to end the travel ban to Cuba in a memo to Secretary of State Dean Rusk. He refers to the ban as "inconsistent with traditional American liberties," and difficult to enforce. The memo is not released to the public until June 29 2005. -
Urge to lift Embargo
In a TV interview from Mexico City, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy urges the U.S. government to lift the embargo and normalize relations with Cuba. "I believe the idea of isolating Cuba was a mistake," says Kennedy. "It has been ineffective. Whatever the reasons and justifications may have been at the time, now they are invalid." -
Ban dropped
U.S. President Carter drops the ban on travel to Cuba and on U.S. citizens spending dollars in Cuba. -
Families Visit
Cuban-Americans are permitted to visit their families in Cuba. More than 100,000 visit in the coming year. -
Reagan Inaugurated
Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President, and institutes the most hostile policy against Cuba since the invasion at Bay of Pigs. Despite conciliatory signals from Cuba, the new U.S. administration announces a tightening of the embargo. -
Travel Re-banned
The Reagan Administration reestablishes the travel ban, prohibits U.S. citizens from spending money in Cuba, and allows the 1977 fishing accord to lapse. -
Mack Amendment
October. In alliance with conservative Republicans, Cuban émigrés and the U.S. Congress 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. -
Cuban Democracy Act
President Bush signs the Cuban Democracy Act into law. Congressman Torricelli says that it will bring down Castro "within weeks." -
UN Resolution
November 11. The UN General Assembly adopts a resolution on the "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba." The vote is 88 for the resolution, 4 against, with 47 abstentions. -
Helms-Burton Act
President Clinton signs the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act (also known as the Helms-Burton Act) which imposes penalties on foreign companies doing business in Cuba, permits U.S. citizens to sue foreign investors who make use of American-owned property seized by the Cuban government, and denies entry into the U.S. to such foreign investors. -
Humanitarian Plea
The coalition of Americans for Humanitarian Trade With Cuba join the United States Association of Former Members of Congress to call on the Clinton administration to end the embargo on food and medicines to Cuba. "The U.S. embargo on Cuba is the single most restrictive policy of its kind. Even Iraq is able to buy food and medicine from U.S. sources," says George Fernandez, Executive Director at AHTC. "As a Cuban American, I speak for the vast majority of us who do not think the U.S. should be in -
Freedom to 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."
