Cuba Denies Visas To US Lawmakers

[RoshawnMarkwees]

I love it when people tell /me/ I no nothing, it amuses me greatly.



Did you not read the source you linked there kido?

In July 1960, the United States reduced the Cuban import quota of brown sugar to 700,000 tons, under the Sugar Act of 1948;[20] and the Soviet Union responded by agreeing to purchase the sugar instead."

In October 1960, a key incident occurred in which a private American oil refinery in Cuba refused to refine a shipment of Soviet crude oil, and the Cuban government responded by nationalizing all three Cuban refineries, which were all American-owned. This prompted the Eisenhower administration to launch the first trade embargo—a prohibition against selling all products to Cuba except food and medicine. The Cuban regime responded with nationalization of all American businesses and most American privately owned properties on the island. No compensation was given for the seizures, and a number of diplomats were expelled from Cuba.

The second wave of nationalizations prompted the Eisenhower administration, in one of its last actions, to sever all diplomatic relations with Cuba, in January 1961. The U.S. partial trade embargo with Cuba was continued, under the Trading with the Enemy Act 1917.

I noticed you conveniently left out this.
On February 7, 1962 the embargo was extended to include almost all imports.

That was 1962. It wasn't until the year 2000 Bill Clinton signed a bill to authorize the sale of "humanitarian" U.S. products to Cuba.Don't know why you put the Hems-Burton Act in. It only helps my argument.
Also compensation was offered to America for their businesses but they refused. The US also tried to tell other foreign businesses to refuse. Something your little history teacher forgot to tell you. The US had already dropped many bombs on Cuban by now and the CIA had already made plans to take Castro down. Castro knew this back in October 1961.

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Insert

Trading with the Enemy Act 1917 ~ United States Code: Title 50a,ACT OCT. 6, 1917, CH. 106, 40 STAT. 411 | LII / Legal Information Institute
38. Shipment of relief supplies; definitions ~ United States Code: Title 50a,38. Shipment of relief supplies; definitions | LII / Legal Information Institute

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act [sections 1 to 6, 7 to 39, and 41 to 44 of this Appendix], it shall be lawful, at any time after the date of cessation of hostilities with any country with which the United States is at war, for any person in the United States to donate, or otherwise dispose of to, and to transport or deliver to, any person in such country any article or articles (including food, clothing, and medicine) intended to be used solely to relieve human suffering. ​

(b) As used in this section—

(1) the term “person” means any individual, partnership, association, company, or other unincorporated body of individuals, or corporation or body politic;
(2) with respect to any country with which the United States was at war on January 1, 1946, the term “date of cessation of hostilities” shall mean the date of enactment of this Act [May 16, 1946];
(3) with respect to any other war the term “date of cessation of hostilities” shall mean the date specified by proclamation of the President or by a concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress whichever is the earlier.​

​

-----The wording uses the phrase"solely" which the American deemed many ingredients and medicine as dual purpose. Thus restricting certain medicines. You also ignored the part where America ramped up the prices. It's not a donation if you are charging them.

Related: H.R. 5323 - 102nd Congress (1991-1992) ~ H.R.5323 - 102nd Congress (1991-1992): Cuban Democracy Act of 1992

"Prohibits restrictions on the export to Cuba of medicines, subject to specified conditions and inspection requirements. Permits telecommunications services between the United States and Cuba. Requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide direct mail service to and from Cuba. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to promote nonviolent democratic change in Cuba."

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RE: Executive order 12854 1993
31 CFR Part 515 - CUBAN ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS ~ 31 CFR Part 515 - CUBAN ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS
31 CFR 515.206 - Exempt transactions. ~ 31 CFR 515.206 - Exempt transactions.
(b) Donation of food. The prohibitions contained in this part do not apply to transactions incident to the donation of food to nongovernmental organizations or individuals in Cuba.

Again, the wording " subject to specified conditions and inspection requirements" It was a smokescreen. Yes some food and some medicine made it in but the US government made it extremely hard and costly. Even the American Association for World Health recognized this. Read the first paragraph.
http://www.medicc.org/resources/documents/embargo/The impact of the U.S. Embargo on Health & Nutrition in Cuba.pdf

After Cuba shot down two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996, killing three Americans and a U.S. resident, a bi-partisan coalition in the United States Congress approved the Helms-Burton Act. "The Title III of this law also states that any non-U.S. company that "knowingly trafficks in property in Cuba confiscated without compensation from a U.S. person" can be subjected to litigation and that company's leadership can be barred from entry into the United States. Sanctions may also be applied to non-U.S. companies trading with Cuba. This restriction also applies to maritime shipping, as ships docking at Cuban ports are not allowed to dock at U.S. ports for six months. It's important to note that this title includes waiver authority, so that the President might suspend its application. This waiver must be renewed every six months and traditionally it has been."

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Insert

The Helms-Burton Act of 1996 ~ https://web.archive.org/web/2000081...ent.uk/commons/lib/research/rp98/rp98-114.pdf

"In 1996 the shooting down of two US planes by the Cuban military accelerated the adoption by Washington of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996, also known as the “Helms-Burton Act”. This extended the territorial application of the existing embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba, and penalized foreign companies allegedly “trafficking” in property formerly owned by US citizens but expropriated by Cuba after the 1959 revolution.

Again, this does not help you. It strengthens my argument. You have to remember. Before Castro Nationalized foreign businesses in Cuba this is what the US was doing and Castro knew it. The people of the US did not know this.

1960

JAN 1960: The CIA sets up a Task Force WH-4, Branch 4 of the Western Hemisphere Division to implement President Eisenhower's request for an ambitious covert program to overthrow the Castro government. Jacob Esterline, Guatemala station chief between 1954-1957, is put in charge of WH-4. (Wyden, pp.2-?29; Gleijeses, p.3; Taylor Report, pp.3-4)

JAN 12, 1960: Throughout the month of January, sabotage and small bombing missions in Cuba increase in frequency. A plane drops incendiary bombs in the areas of Bainoa, Caraballo, and San Antonio de Rio Blanco. Another plane coming from the north, with U.S. markings, drops inflammable material on cane fields next to the Hershey factory. (Informe Especial. 1960)

JAN 18, 1960: A plane drops live phosphorous over the cane plantations of Quemados de Guines and Rancho Veloz, in Las Villas. Seven people are detained in Sagua la Grande for trying to derail the Sagua?Havana train. (Informe Especial: 1960)

JAN 21, 1960: A plane drops four one-hundred pound bombs on the urban district of Cojimar y Regla in Havana. (Informe Especial: 1960)

JAN 28, 1960: At four in the afternoon in the town of Chambas on the north coast, a Catalina plane drops incendiary bombs that fail to go off. The bombs have the inscription "Bristo Marines." Another plane drops incendiary bombs on the cane fields in the refineries of Adelaida, Violeta, Patria, Punta Alegre, and Morón, in Camaguey; and Monati, Delicias, and Chapana, in Oriente. The incendiary devices dropped on the central Adelaide almost totally destroy 40 million "arrobas" ["arroba" = 25 pounds] of cane. (Informe Especial: 1960)

JAN 29-31, 1960: A plane drops incendiary phosphorous bombs on 10 districts in the area of the Chapana refinery. Other bombing attacks take place on cane plantations in San Isidro and on houses in the Central Toledo in Havana. More than one?hundred thousand "arrobas" of cane are burned in Alacranes and Jovellanos in the province of Matanzas. (Informe Especial: 1960)

FEB 1960: The Movimiento de Recuperación Revolucionaria - MRR - releases its "Ideario" of basic points. In the preamble, Manuel Artíme writes that MRR has been formed "not only to overthrow Fidel Castro, but to permanently fight for an ideology of Christ; and for a reality of liberating our nation treacherously sold to the Communist International." Luis Boza prepares the document. ("Ideario: Puntos Basicos.")

FEB 1-13, 1960: Planes drop bombs burning more than 17,000 arrobas of cane in Trinidad; and other bombing attacks take place in Punta Alegre, Camaguey province, against the Adelaide refinery, and in the central España. (Informe Especial: 1960)


FEB 18, 1960: A plane trying to bomb the central España, Matanzas province, explodes in mid-air. The pilot is identified as Robert Ellis Frost, an American who carries a U.S. military identification card. (Informe Especial: 1960)

FEB 21, 1960: Police detain a group of internal resistance forces that try to throw hand grenades at the Havana carnival. (Informe Especial: 1960)

FEB 22-25, 1960: A bi-motor B-25 plane takes part in burning cane fields in Las Villas. Simultaneous incursions by planes occur in Las Villas and Matanzas provinces. Counterrevolutionary groups burn 243,000 arrobas of cane in areas of Camaguey and Matanzas; and destroy 166,000 arrobas of cane in the district of La Papilla in Las Villas. (Informe Especial: 1960)

MAR 1960: The CIA begins training 300 guerrillas, initially in the U.S. and the Canal Zone. Following an agreement with President Ydígoras in June, training shifts to Guatemala. The CIA begins work to install a powerful radio station on Greater Swan Island, ninety?seven miles off the coast of Honduras.

MAR 4-5, 1960: Sabotage of a French ship, La Coubre, in Havana harbor, carrying arms for Cuba, kills about 100 people and wounds some 300. The following day at funerals for the victims Fidel Castro accuses the United States of responsibility for the action.

Move to Cuba and tell Castro to fuck off.
That should take care of this non-discussion.

 

[EverCurious]

Do note the statement SALE OF - not the same as donating humanitarian aid, also note that the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 over rules. It is not /illegal/ to /donate/ medical and food supplies and it never was. It is only the /sale/ of such things that is banned, no shit we ban the /sale/ of things, it's a fucking trade embargo... Do you not understand what that is? It is not the US government's fault that no one wanted to voluntarily assist.

Yea no fucking shit in 1992 after they allowed a near enemy to point military weapons at our god damn mainland we stopped playing nicely and tightened the thumbscrews.

But again, how about a bit deeper read of your source there:

"In response to pressure from some American farmers and agribusiness, the embargo was relaxed by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which was passed by the Congress in October 2000 and signed by President Bill Clinton. The relaxation allowed the sale of agricultural goods and medicine to Cuba for humanitarian reasons. Although Cuba initially declined to engage in such trade (having even refused U.S. food aid in the past,[27] seeing it as a half-measure serving U.S. interests), the Cuban government began to allow the purchase of food from the U.S. as a result of Hurricane Michelle in November 2001. These purchases have grown since then[dubious – discuss], even though all sales are made in cash. In 2007, the U.S. was the largest food supplier of Cuba, which nevertheless is largely self-sufficient,[28] and its fifth largest trading partner."


Here's some more reality, from 2001 ~ CNN.com - Cuba responds to offer of U.S. aid following hurricane - November 9, 2001

"Although the United States has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for decades, U.S. law does allow shipments of food and medicine to the communist-controlled island. But the Cuban government has long refused to buy American food because of the restrictions, including a ban on direct U.S. financing of food sales."

Cuban President Fidel Castro's government is not allowed to receive most goods from the United States because of the embargo, but can get food and medicine under a special license."

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More? We were going to just donate aid supplies after Michelle so we didn't break our own embargo laws, but he refused it. ~ BBC News | AMERICAS | Castro welcomes one-off US trade

"In a speech in Havana President Castro said: "We are ready, just for this once, to acquire certain quantities of food and medicine from the United States, paying them in cash."

He said the goods could be transported on American vessels, reversing a previous insistence that the shipment be picked up and carried on Cuban boats - a condition rejected by Washington.

Cuba proposed a one-off cash purchase after declining an offer of humanitarian aid from the US in the wake of Hurricane Michelle, which caused massive damage across the island earlier this month.

The purchase is now subject to US approval.

But President Castro insisted that Cuba would not buy any other goods from the United States while the embargo remained in place.

"We hope for a continual lessening of the obstacles that exist and that one day the blockade will disappear," Mr Castro told a regional trade forum"

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So ya know, it's not "big bad America's" fault that Castro is a dick. Castro, like most fascist socialist assholes, never gave two shits for the people; the second he secured power he said fuck you to them all and did whatever he wanted, attacking anyone who spoke out against him - Just like the modern left if they won't let you lie then punch them in the face. And no doubt they'd do the same shit Castro did.

Reality is that he wanted the missiles, but he got his social ass handed to him when the US and Russia resolved the Cuban Missie Crisis without his input, and russia agreed to remove the missiles in Cuba. He was insulted and pissed the fuck off and held a grudge that the evil US had strong armed his ally Russia into the deal - of course the truth was that unlike idiot Castro, Russia and America both said holy shit we were on the verge of destroying the world, this needs to stop - and so /they/ put an end to it

The unfriendly relationship between US and Cuba has been mutual from the very beginning of Castro's regime. Castro has always hated America because we were the biggest dog in the world and he just happened to be right off our doorstep and damned to perpetual omega status in our shadow. Dictators like him have to fluff their egos by tearing out every shred of the 'alpha' from their pack - which is why he seized US owned businesses and told the US to fuck off, then clamped down on freedom of the press and of opinion - to eliminate the change of this sheep from liking the US. The entire country turned into a mess of US hating asshats, and he did it the same way the left did in America - through the schools.


The back ground on why we got so serious about the Cuban embargo actually goes back like 100 years, off the top of my head. It's a tale of friendship and alliances, of long standing bonds and lessons learned the hard way...

We made the mistake of letting businesses sell shit to our enemies only to have it used against us in the World Wars - most easy to understand was the sale of AMERICAN oil to Japan We provided 70-80% of Japan's oil before they teamed up with Hitler, when we said oh hell no and cut their asses off, they used the last fumes of OUR FUCKING OIL to blow up Pearl Harbor. Fuck that shit.

This actually ties into the ME, as well sympathies toward the refineries stolen by Castro.

In the early 1900s Britain, spurred by the German's building a large oil fueled and more technologically advanced navy (23 battle cruisers and 19 battleships), switched from coal fired navel vessels, which they had a shit ton of, to oil, which they had none of. Earlier in 1908 Churchill had paired up with a guy named William D'Arcy, and a company name Anglo-Persia, to drill on land that the Shah of Persia had given to Churchill in the early 1900's. Unfortunately, D'Arcy didn't really have a major buyer for his oil because he was competing with Russian and German oil, as well as other oil fields in the ME. (This was before cars got big) In 1914, just days before the outbreak of the war, Churchill convinced the British government to buy up the majority of Anglo-Persia to fuel their army, and people - they re-branded the company British Petroleum - yep BP. Churchill had also negotiated a deal with the Sheikh of Muhammerah to build an oil refinery, depot, and port on Abadan Island adjacent to the Shaat-al-Arab as part of the emerging British policy to keep the Germany out of the strategic ME oil fields.

In a related story - the German's actually had the name BP originally, it was the "friendly" front for a profit making venture; they had been secretly shipping their oil from a ME parcel given to them by the Ottoman's Sultan, Abdul Hamid II back in 1899. Germany's front company BP was selling it as Iranian oil - thus we had actually helped fund Hitlers rise to power, as well as his war machine. Anyway, Churchill had destroyed the German BP front company in 1904 when they found out about it. Shit was going down hill fast with the German's before the war. In 1912 Germany built a rail line to the ME, bringing troops into range of BP's oil drill, the only source of oil Britain really had; providing like 98% of their oil. A spy had notified them of possible impending attack in 1914, shortly before outbreak of war noting: Oppenheim told Kaiser Wilhelm, “When the Turks invade Egypt, and India is set ablaze with the flames of revolt, only then will England crumble. For England is at her most vulnerable in her colonies.” I'm sure you can imagine why they got seriously bent about ME oil.

It gets deeper as well because in 1899 Britian had also secured a 99-year exclusive agreement with Kuwait for their oil. When shit hit the fan in the ME in the 1970s, BP shifted its primary focus to Alaska and BP has supplied the US and Europe with Alaskan Crude since 1977. (They almost walked away from Alaska, but the precursor to Exxon and AMCO's sudden large offer for their holdings on the north slope made them pause, they went back and drilled a few more test wells and struck oil. The other two had already found their reserves.) In 1987 BP - America was formed by the purchase of Standard Oil of Ohio's refineries, and in that same year the British Government sold their much of their shares in BP in a move toward a privatized capitalist economy. (It could even be argued that if Britian had stayed more on the left, the US wouldn't have started to falter in the 90s, we would have remained the big dog in the capitalist pen) Perhaps ironically, throughout the 1980s a 90% tax on the sale of North Sea oil (aka Alaskan crude through BP) supported much of the cost of reforming Britian after the labor parties 1974 and 1976 militants charter of trade union legislation, and subsequent destruction, of hundreds of nationalized companies. In 1988, after privatizing nearly everything she could, Margret Thatcher sold the last government shares of BP.

Go figure the left didn't really learn from their mistake because of the 90% tax they made on the hated oil companies, and joined the socialist bent EU. Maybe they'll learn during this round of cleaning up the disaster left behind...

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Anyway, as a result of WWI and WWII we have come to understand that any products sold to our enemies can very easily be turned against us, and worse we knew damn well that most products made in America are better than anything else in the world - thus we make embargo's against clearly hostile countries to prevent undermining our own interests. So, yes, when we embargo someone, damn straight the goal is to make them feel pain. It's called intimidation, same shit these fucks use to get into power - its the only language they understand. Problem with Castro is that he doesn't give a shit about his people, therefore what happens to the peasants beneath him is a non-issue. You realize his family was worth $900,000 in $2000 yea? US embargo's didn't effect /HIM/ at all, only his subjects thus the embargo couldn't break him.

When the USSR fell apart the US thought they would have a chance to finally get through to him, to stop the abuse of his people, so we hammered down the embargo. USSR provided for the vast majority of the Cuban economy. Instead he ignored the suffering of his people and basically let them die in the streets because he's that much of an inhuman asshole. Sander's fans actually remind me of him a lot...

 

[JoeB131]

So it's okay when US businesses by the hundreds have their operations seized by a foreign leader? No protection for American citizen's interests on foreign soil? By your 'acceptance' or 'forgiving' of this hostile attack on American's, can the US government seize say Apple without retaliation of any kind (aka trade embargo's)?

Oh, my God, isn't it horrible, that the people of a country took back their own property?

And it should be noted, you're a liar as well. "Starve them out" my ass, our embargo specifically noted that foodstuff and medical supplies were exempt. We did no 'starving' of anyone, we merely put our foot down that if Castro was going to /steal/ the property of American's we weren't going to fucking by the stolen property back from his ass. He also tried to force the oil companies to supply to Russia, our at the time 'enemy,' then when the oil companies refused to betray America, the fucker stole their shit too.

This guy stole the entire country, literally, and yet you blame America? hahahaha

Wow, Cuba still scares you, the very thought that working people can take what the rich have and there's not jack shit the rich can do about it, really.

the thing is, american's didn't acquire that property, they STOLE it. Here's what John F. Kennedy said about the Cuban Revolution.

"I believe that there is no country in the world including any and all the countries under colonial domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my country's policies during the Batista regime. I approved the proclamation which Fidel Castro made in the Sierra Maestra, when he justifiably called for justice and especially yearned to rid Cuba of corruption. I will even go further: to some extent it is as though Batista was the incarnation of a number of sins on the part of the United States. Now we shall have to pay for those sins. In the matter of the Batista regime, I am in agreement with the first Cuban revolutionaries. That is perfectly clear."—U.S. President John F. Kennedy, interview withJean Daniel, 24 October 1963[27]

About a month later, he was killed with the Cuban exiles having their prints all over that one.

Today, we are still punishing Cuba because these shitheads we let into the country have too much political influence.

 

[Disir]

Cuba denies visas for House lawmakers | Fox News




Obama is so damn dumb.






Cuba is refusing to approve visa applications for members of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, according to the committee's chairman.

They have already had 10 delegations. Although, I sure as hell wouldn't allow another country in to look at security infrastructure-especially with all of the USAID drama and expulsion of diplomats in the south and central Americas. Looks like political theater.

 

[EverCurious]

Oh, my God, isn't it horrible, that the people of a country took back their own property?

Wow, Cuba still scares you, the very thought that working people can take what the rich have and there's not jack shit the rich can do about it, really.

the thing is, american's didn't acquire that property, they STOLE it. Here's what John F. Kennedy said about the Cuban Revolution.

"I believe that there is no country in the world including any and all the countries under colonial domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my country's policies during the Batista regime. I approved the proclamation which Fidel Castro made in the Sierra Maestra, when he justifiably called for justice and especially yearned to rid Cuba of corruption. I will even go further: to some extent it is as though Batista was the incarnation of a number of sins on the part of the United States. Now we shall have to pay for those sins. In the matter of the Batista regime, I am in agreement with the first Cuban revolutionaries. That is perfectly clear."—U.S. President John F. Kennedy, interview withJean Daniel, 24 October 1963[27]

About a month later, he was killed with the Cuban exiles having their prints all over that one.

Today, we are still punishing Cuba because these shitheads we let into the country have too much political influence.

Wow. You're so eager to hate America that you lie like a dog and think folks will fall for it.

Cuba gained independence from SPAIN in the Cuban War of Independence in 1889. In fact, the American public's desire to free Cuba from Spain was a major catalyst for the Spanish American War. In the resulting 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain was refusing to accept the national debt they had wracked up in Cuba - four hundred million dollars, but the US gave them no choice. Eventually, it was agreed that Cuba was to be granted to the Cubans and the four hundred million dollar liability returned to Spain. It was also agreed that Spain would cede Guam and Puerto Rico to the US. So no idiot boy, we didn't steal shit from the Cuban's we pulled their ass out of the fire and opened business relations with them. In fact the Cuban's not only writ the Cuban-American Treaty of Relations in 1903 and later updated in 1934, both of which stipulated that Cuba would lease land to the US, notably Guantanamo Bay.

Here's a 1901 newspaper article talking about the writing of the Cuban's first Constitution ~ THE CUBAN CONVENTION; Delegates Meet to Frame a Constitution for the Island. GEN. WOOD OPENS MEETING Resolutions of Thanks to the Governor General and Gratitude to President McKinley Presented.

"Second-That the committee request Gen. Wood to cable to the President of the United States as follows:
"'The delegates elected to the Constitutional Convention assembled at their inaugural meeting, greet with profound gratitude and affection the President of the United States of North America. an they are satisfied with the honesty demonstrated in the fulfillment of the declarations made in favor of liberty and the independence of the Cuban people.'"

Sound like folks who are being stolen from? Not really huh

In fact here's a 1900 article bitching about the Secretary of the War issuing an order to "to frame and adopt" said Constitution, not pleased with the order to 'adopt' - though the writer is not entirely sure of the intended sentiment of the SoW, they were quite unhappy about the term because it was always the wish of American's that Cuba be sovereign it was wished that the people of Cuba would vote on the actual constitution itself, not merely the framers of it.

And another discussing that the Cuban Constitutional Framers were planning to incorporate (basically) what is in the Treaty of Relations of 1903 below ~ UNITED STATES AND CUBA; Relations Discussed by Gen. Wood and Cuban Committee. Probable Items of the Agreement -- Cubans, It Is Said, Will Not Object to Most Liberal Terms.

And finally the Cuban's additions to the US's Platt inclusion in the Cuban Constitution - they further clarified the isle of pines, US to intervening in Cuban government for the "maintenance," as well as the intentions of the US naval base. ~ CUBANS' REPORTS ON FUTURE RELATIONS; Majority Specifies Conditions of Intervention.

Treaty of Relations 1903 ~ Avalon Project - Agreement Between the United States and Cuba for the Lease of Lands for Coaling and Naval stations; February 23, 1903
"While on the one hand the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the above described areas of land and water, on the other hand the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States of said areas under the terms of this agreement the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas with the right to acquire (under conditions to be hereafter agreed upon by the two Governments) for the public purposes of the United States any land or other property therein by purchase or by exercise of eminent domain with full compensation to the owners thereof."

Some Cuban's were concerned by the imminent domain clause, and in 1933 FDR, in an effort to alleviate concerns of imperialistic takeover of Cuba, annulled the Platt Amendment (US policy) and worked out a modified Treaty of Relations (Cuba's policy) which reads:

1. not permit a foreign power to obtain a naval base on the island
2. not go into excessive debt
3. grant the US the right to intervene in Cuba for the maintenance of (an adequate) government
4. approve all prior military actions by the United States
5. take measures to reduce infectious diseases
6. determine sovereignty over the Isle of Pines by a later treaty[a]
7. lease lands for naval stations to the United States

Cuba's President decided to reincluded US's Platt Amendment in their own Constitution in 1940, even though /we/ had annulled it.


Cuba did not want to break away from the US, we were a powerful friend to have. In fact it wasn't until Castro and his tin foil hat theories about the US "ruining everything" came into power that there was really any angst between Cuba and the US, the occasional angry person - rather like you are against America now, but for the most part Cubans were fine with the relationship US had with them.

Castro was an immature child with a hunger for power, and he was more than happy to take over and rule with the proclaimed iron fist that he claimed the US had. Even though the ToR was a mutual agreement. In fact, Castro declared that the previous leaders of Cuba who had put forth the ToR were traitors to Cuba... The guy was off his rocker. The businesses that went to Cuba were not on stolen land, they were in /business/ with Cuba. Castro overthrew the government that they had negotiated with, then stole their shit in /direct/ retaliation to a US government turn down in the purchase of Cuban sugar with a hostile communist nation.

There was no 'protecting of their own land' as you claim, it was an intentional escalation of hostile actions against the US government by Castro - except the businesses were owned by private individuals. By the standards of the left today, I can totally label Castro a racist pig because he hated Americans.

 

[JoeB131]

Wow. You're so eager to hate America that you lie like a dog and think folks will fall for it.

Cuba gained independence from SPAIN in the Cuban War of Independence in 1889. In fact, the American public's desire to free Cuba from Spain was a major catalyst for the Spanish American War.

You mean "The Most Immoral War ever Fought"? The original "War over a Lie"?

Seriously, that's what you are going with, that we imposed ourselves on Cuba and the Philippines, because we could, and we don't know why the Filipinos and Cubans STILL resent us today.

Cuba did not want to break away from the US, we were a powerful friend to have. In fact it wasn't until Castro and his tin foil hat theories about the US "ruining everything" came into power that there was really any angst between Cuba and the US, the occasional angry person - rather like you are against America now, but for the most part Cubans were fine with the relationship US had with them.

Sure they were. That's why they rose up and threw Batista out, because they were just oh so cool with us letting Meier Lansky and United Fruit loot their country.

Reality check - 75% of arable land in Cuba was owned by foreigners when Castro took power. People taking back what is theirs... man, that must keep you up at night.

 

[Tuatara]

Do note the statement SALE OF - not the same as donating humanitarian aid, also note that the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 over rules. It is not /illegal/ to /donate/ medical and food supplies and it never was. It is only the /sale/ of such things that is banned, no shit we ban the /sale/ of things, it's a fucking trade embargo... Do you not understand what that is? It is not the US government's fault that no one wanted to voluntarily assist.

Nobody wanted to voluntarily assist? Your own Helms-Burton Act which you so graciously expanded on made sure that it would be difficult. Think about it. If a Canadian vessel wanted to drop food and medicine off to Cuba, it could not stop in the US to refuel , nor would it be able to stop in the US for trade or any other business.

Yea no fucking shit in 1992 after they allowed a near enemy to point military weapons at our god damn mainland we stopped playing nicely and tightened the thumbscrews.

Are you even paying attention? The US had weapons directed at the USSR first. Stop pretending to be some sort of innocent party here. I noticed you also ignored all those terrorist attacks the US implemented on Cuba back in 1960 and 61.

"In response to pressure from some American farmers and agribusiness, the embargo was relaxed by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which was passed by the Congress in October 2000 and signed by President Bill Clinton. The relaxation allowed the sale of agricultural goods and medicine to Cuba for humanitarian reasons. Although Cuba initially declined to engage in such trade (having even refused U.S. food aid in the past,[27] seeing it as a half-measure serving U.S. interests), the Cuban government began to allow the purchase of food from the U.S. as a result of Hurricane Michelle in November 2001. These purchases have grown since then[dubious – discuss], even though all sales are made in cash. In 2007, the U.S. was the largest food supplier of Cuba, which nevertheless is largely self-sufficient,[28] and its fifth largest trading partner." ....

The US also refused aid from Cuba. It was political posturing on both sides. As I pointed out earlier if Clinton allowed for the sales of food and medicine to be relaxed means they were tightened before that.

So ya know, it's not "big bad America's" fault that Castro is a dick.

No but it's America's fault the US is a bigger dick, by far.

Castro, like most fascist socialist assholes, never gave two shits for the people; the second he secured power he said fuck you to them all and did whatever he wanted, attacking anyone who spoke out against him

Yeah, Castro just improved the literacy rate, access to medial attention, they have the highest doctor to patient ratio in the world, life expectancy is better in Cuba than most Western countries. What was that about not giving two shits?

Reality is that he wanted the missiles, but he got his social ass handed to him when the US and Russia resolved the Cuban Missie Crisis without his input, and russia agreed to remove the missiles in Cuba.

Of course the two super powers are gong to be the ones dicussing the situation. Turkey had no input as to the discussion about the removal of the missiles placed there either.

He was insulted and pissed the fuck off and held a grudge that the evil US had strong armed his ally Russia into the deal

No, he feared with the missiles gone that the US would attack him again which they had already done before.

of course the truth was that unlike idiot Castro, Russia and America both said holy shit we were on the verge of destroying the world, this needs to stop - and so /they/ put an end to it

Are you implying Castro manipulated the 2 world's largest superpowers to the final minutes. Maybe it was both superpowers playing hardball with each other and because their both are too stubborn from years of bullying neither one was going to back down until the full realization of the situation.

The unfriendly relationship between US and Cuba has been mutual from the very beginning of Castro's regime.

Wrong again, the people of the US supported the revolution and even some politicians. The policy makers who had ties to the mafia that ran Cuba before did not.

Castro has always hated America because we were the biggest dog in the world and he just happened to be right off our doorstep and damned to perpetual omega status in our shadow.

Really, are you that simple? It had nothing to do with the US's support of the brutal Batista. Castro liked a lot of things about America and it's p[people but that went sour after America terrorized and attacked Cuba.

Dictators like him have to fluff their egos by tearing out every shred of the 'alpha' from their pack - which is why he seized US owned businesses and told the US to fuck off,

You mean he tried to claim sovereignty for his country. And stop this with the seizing of US owned business. He offerd compensation but the US refused. Your history books certainly leave out a lot of details.

On May 17, 1959, the Cuban government enacts its Agrarian Reform Law: distributing all farmlands over 1,000 acres to landless peasants and workers, and prohibiting foreign ownership of land — which had owned 75 percent of Cuba's most fertile land. The Cuban government buys all foreign owned land with 20 year fixed-term government bonds paying an annual interest rate of 4.5 percent (higher than most U.S. government bond rates at the time). Over 200,000 Cuban families own land for the first time in their lives as a result of the reform.


Opposition in the U.S. grows as a result, and on June 5, Sen. George Smathers (Democrat of Florida) proposes an amendment to reduce the Cuban sugar quota. Six days later, the U.S. government officially protests the terms of compensation given to U.S. companies for the Cuban land they had occupied. U.S. landowners object that compensation is being granted in accordance to tax assessment rates, explaining that those tax rates had not been adjusted for 30 or 40 years, and thus did not depict the current value of the land. For decades this had been of tremendous advantage to the foreign landowners — not having tax rates updated meant paying taxes in terms of values 30 or 40 years old; i.e. increasingly lower tax rates with each passing year. Despite this, the Cuban government negotiates with foreign landowners and reaches agreements with landowners in Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Sweden. U.S. landowners refuse to sitdown for any negotiations.

then clamped down on freedom of the press and of opinion - to eliminate the change of this sheep from liking the US.

He clamped down on American owned propaganda communications.

The entire country turned into a mess of US hating asshats, and he did it the same way the left did in America - through the schools.

Has nothing to do with the way the US has treated Cuba over the years now does it.

I urge you to read these. Please find anything that is not accurate. Most of the information comes from US declassified documents. When you have finished reading them. Ask yourself whether or not you agree that what the US was doing was right.

Bay of Pigs Chronology
Cuban History: Bay of Pigs

 

[EverCurious]

Wow... so much for socialist education...

Cuba and the USSR had no problem what so ever with getting shit in and out - with the exception of just after the missile crisis which was resolved with the Soviets pretty quick. Trudeau was good personal friends with Castro, it is... or well it was during the cold war, often tossed around that they were intellectual soulmates - that's a rare thing. Anyway Canada shipped shit to Cuba all the time. Up until 1992, there weren't restrictions on anyone /else/ trading with Cuba, just the US. That was all relaxed a lot starting in 2000 (basically dumped the embargo because the new Castro is a bit less hateful toward US, or that is the theory anyway), but even from 1992 - 2000 it was basically just a sticker for your boat /IF/ you wanted to dock in an American port afterwards. If you didn't get the sticker for your boat, you stayed away from American ports for 6 months.

After the hurricane incident the US started sending financial aid to Cuba, and Raul accepted it and we've been slowly working out of the embargo since. Cuban's are a proud people, so are Americans, it's a dance a slow stalking with neither wanting to give anything but both wanting to work things out.

Anyway, I'm afraid my patience for re-educating you has run out... I didn't make it through your whole post. So I'm just going to summarize my closing with this;

Real life foreign policy isn't as easy as you want to believe, even today it's not just writing up paperwork and signing it. Personality, beliefs, and projected future action all play a part in the process as much as you over emotional liberals seem to want to completely discount it. Castro /hated/ America, that was why the Cuban embargo was long, not because America's a bitch, but because both America and Castro were stubborn.

Castro was a dick, maybe you think that's more of an 'insult' than it is to me. (I call my husband an asshole constantly, to his face, it's an alpha thing...) However, just as in any relationship there is a give and take. Neither the US nor Castro wanted to give shit, and a generation of embargo was the result of it. Alpha's, it's what they do.

Try reading... at least Wiki, there's hundreds of thousands of sites and articles about this stuff on the web, pick up a few that aren't in the "conspiracy theory" vein. Read the articles from /when/ it actually happened. I was fresh out of HS during the missile crisis, I was raised as practically a /participant/ in the cold war; my father retired a three star general, he was in command of space defense - specifically against Russia, I've been to the missile silos, I did idiotic nuke drills throughout my entire life, my father was the commander of the states national guard.

I lived this stuff and your impression is colored to fuck, maybe because your PM was good buds with him, but that only proves /my/ point - personality and belief play a part in foreign relations so you can't just blame one side or the other. It takes two to tango.

 

[EverCurious]

Joe, I'm afraid I gotta bail on this, I have a deadline :/

I'm sure we'll find something else to argue about later, you're my favorite despicable commie on here <3

 

[JoeB131]

Cuba and the USSR had no problem what so ever with getting shit in and out - with the exception of just after the missile crisis which was resolved with the Soviets pretty quick. Trudeau was good personal friends with Castro, it is... or well it was during the cold war, often tossed around that they were intellectual soulmates - that's a rare thing. Anyway Canada shipped shit to Cuba all the time. Up until 1992, there weren't restrictions on anyone /else/ trading with Cuba, just the US. That was all relaxed a lot starting in 2000 (basically dumped the embargo because the new Castro is a bit less hateful toward US, or that is the theory anyway), but even from 1992 - 2000 it was basically just a sticker for your boat /IF/ you wanted to dock in an American port afterwards. If you didn't get the sticker for your boat, you stayed away from American ports for 6 months.

Guy, you are delusional. I worked for a British company from 2008 to 2015, and they wouldn't trade with Cuba because the Americans wouldn't let them.

We are still punishing Cuba for rejecting us. We are like the ex-boyfriend who stalks a woman after she kicks his ass to the curb. We need to knock it the fuck off.

Joe, I'm afraid I gotta bail on this, I have a deadline :/

I'm sure we'll find something else to argue about later, you're my favorite despicable commie on here <3

You're whiny concession is duly noted. Cuba no doubt gives you nightmares. "Not my trust fund!!!!"

 

[Rustic]

Why does somebody usually points nukes at ya dumbass? They want you anhillated. Now don't tell me yer gonna hug them dude!

actually, they pointed nukes at us because we spent 60 years raping their country.

We should count ourselves lucky the Russians controlled the buttons.

You sound pussy whipped