United States and Cuba

Stolberg, Sheryl Gay and Alexei Barrionuevo. “Obama Says U.S. Will Pursue Thaw with Cuba.” New York Times 18 April 2009

In this article, Stolberg and Barrionuevo report on President Obama's meetings with The Summit of the Americas. President Obama spoke about the United States " seeking a new beginning with Cuba" after almost five "decades of mistrust" and a trade embargo against the nation. This would open up Cuba to be able to trade with America and allow "Cuban-Americans to travel freely to the island and send money to relatives there." Obama also told the crowd, the past no longer matters and it is all about the future. The attendees which included Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez, seemed to be thrilled by the idea.

In class we learned about how Fidel Castro tried to take over the land and businesses in Cuba which were owned by the United States. Fidel Castro made it clear he didn't want his protectorate to be controlled by the U.S., and wanted isolationism for Cuba. The trade embargo against Cuba has probably hurt the country for years financially, because they haven't been able to ship their goods to a nearby country such as ours. It is surprising that his brother, Raul, would want Cuba to make peace with the U.S. Perhaps Raul Castro has learned from his brother's mistakes and wants to make money trading Cuban cigars and from the tourism/ cruising industry. Since this article came out in 2009, it would be interesting to read if there has been any further developments on this issue.