One of the most consequential pieces of legislation John F. Kennedy passed as the 35th president of the United States of America was Proclamation 3447. The proclamation entailed a full trade embargo against all imports and most exports to and from the small island nation of Cuba, 90 miles off the coast of the United States. In theory, this appears as a strategically arbitrary move from the world’s most powerful empire. However, when we take a closer look into the modern history of the largest island in the Caribbean, the answer becomes clear. 

Following the fall of U.S.-backed military leader Fulgencio Batista at the hands of the nationalist 26th of July movement, the island that once stood as a playground for both United States mafia and foreign capitalist interests became one centered around the idea of power to the people. Pre-revolution Cuba fit the proto neo-liberal dream of what a society should be. Rich in Western measures of development like GDP, boasting high economic gains when you look at a loose leaf sheet of paper. But, the reality for most Cubans on the ground was less than savory. According to historical reporting from PBS, huge disparities in racial, economic, and educational status plagued the island when looking past the ownership class. 

The nationalist revolution of 1959 sought to rewrite many of the inequalities present in Cuban society. Mass literacy programs, land redistribution laws like the first and second agrarian reform laws, and a universal healthcare system aimed to meet the needs of its people were fundamentally opposed from day one by Uncle Sam. Following the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, President Kennedy and the CIA were well aware of the popularity the new Cuban government held (which is why Castro was nearly assassinated 600 times), which prompted a desperate response from the U.S. rivaling the worst the imagination could dream. 

Economic embargos by the U.S. government are used historically as starvation campaigns, meant to drive desperation and discontent in whatever nation Uncle Sam feels like needs a regime change. In the decades following the implementation of the embargo in Cuba, the situation has worsened year by year, especially following the collapse of the USSR (known as the Special Period in Cuba). Shortages of items we in the imperial core take for granted like food, medical supplies, and general infrastructure are far behind where it was headed in 1959.  

The embargo on Cuba today is the biggest cause of the issues facing the island. Currently, the Trump administration intentionally stopped oil from coming into Cuba in January of this year through executive order 14380, which on top of the already existing embargo, placed tariffs on any oil that would enter into the island, according to the White House directly. Island-wide blackouts aren’t a new phenomenon, but I fear this year’s blackout was the most intense of its kind. As a citizen of the United States, I feel particularly angered by my government’s actions against an innocent population. Policies like the embargo and (the now defunct) wet foot, dry foot incentivized our fellow human beings to risk their lives fleeing conditions of our selfish creation. If Communism inevitably fails without question, why the embargo? Why starve an entire population from food, from healthcare, and most importantly, from a dignified existence? Things in Cuba have never been perfect, even on the 26th of July’s greatest day. However, 60 plus years into the embargo one thing is clear — it isn’t working and it must end now. Cuba isn’t an island for Trump and the ownership class to use as they please.