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President Eisenhower's propaganda plan
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: the termination of sugar purchases, the end of oil deliveries, continuation of the arms embargo in effect since mid-1958, the organization of a paramilitary force of Cuban exiles to invade the island. -
The Embargo Begins
U.S. imposes a partial economic embargo on Cuba that excludes food and medicine. -
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
It prohibits aid to Cuba from the U.S. and authorizes the President to create a "total embargo upon all trade" with Cuba. -
The Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS) adopts mandatory sanctions against Cuba, requiring all members to sever diplomatic and trade relations. -
President Carter
U.S. President Carter drops the ban on travel to Cuba and on U.S. citizens spending dollars in Cuba. -
Cuban-Americans
Cuban-Americans are permitted to visit their families in Cuba. -
Ronald Reagan's Inauguration
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 Ban Reinstated
The Reagan Administration reestablishes the travel ban and prohibits U.S. citizens from spending money in Cuba. -
October 1990
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. -
"Wreak havoc on the island"
U.S. Congressman Robert Torricelli introduces the Cuban Democracy Act, and says the bill is designed to "wreak havoc on the island." -
23 members
A 23-member task force in the U.S., made up of liberals and conservatives, calls for an end to the embargo to "help the island's transition to a post-Castro era and reduce the chances of U.S. military intervention." -
Presidential Proclamation 7757
U.S. President Bush signs Presidential Proclamation 7757, which bans vessels from traveling to Cuban ports from U.S. ports. -
House of Representatives Appropriations Committee
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. -
$80 million
US President G.W. Bush approves $80 million to be used for "boosting democracy in Cuba." -
Micheal B. Enzi
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."
