The history of relations between the United States and Cuba have been well documented
and researched. Any historian or political scientist will say that history has been complicated and
tense, but have been cooling off for some time now. Relations between the U.S. and Cuba look
more optimistic than they have for the past half a century, and different historians have slightly
different views on how these relations have evolved since the communist revolution that ended
diplomacy between the two countries.
In his book, Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy, Louis A. Pérez looks
at the history of the two countries and how they coexisted during the colonial era and into
Castro’s revolution. Pérez sees the U.S. as the driving factor behind the conditions in Cuba that
led to Castro’s revolution. In the immediate aftermath of the revolution that ousted a longtime
U.S. ally as Cuba’s leader, Pérez observes that it “was perhaps not immediately apparent during
the early months of 1959 […] that the United States was being shorn of much of its traditional
power to influence the course of events on the island”1. Fulgencio Batista had become a despised
figure to many Cubans, but he had enjoyed heavy U.S. support for some time as well. Batista’s
regime was wiped away by the revolutionaries and the fact that “the United States played so
prominent a part in this discredited past all but guaranteed a day of reckoning”2. Early reforms
in Cuba were designed to curb the influence the U.S. had on the country, which upset the U.S.
and led to increasing tensions. Cuba nationalized the property of foreign companies operating on
their soil. This was a major blow to the U.S. and diplomatic relations, but tensions were further
inflamed when Cuba developed economic cooperation with the Soviet Union. Pérez sees this as
the incident that caused relations between the U.S. and Cuba to deteriorate quickly, with the U.S.
enacting more sanctions and Cuba seizing more U.S. property in response in a cycle that
continued until both countries ceased to cooperate. This analysis by Pérez is an insightful
understanding of the revolution and how the U.S. played a heavy part in it.
The article “Blessings of Liberty: The United States and the Promotion of Democracy in
Cuba” in the Journal of Latin American Studies looks at the U.S.’ approach to Cuba through the
years, specifically its attempts to promote democracy there. The author, Lars Schoultz,
recognizes the times throughout the history of their relations when the U.S. has attempted to
push Cuba towards democracy, starting in the 19 the century up through the communist
revolution. Schoultz notes that when Vice President Richard Nixon spoke with Castro, the Cuban
leader he “repeatedly encouraged Castro to hold elections promptly and respect the building
blocks of democracy”3. However, the U.S. actually cared less about Castro’s antidemocratic
politics and more about the threat Cuba represented to American security and economic interests, as Schoultz says those were the real motivating factors that led to the infamous Bay of Pigs
Invasion4. When they realized they would not be able to assassinate Castro, the U.S. focused on
crippling Cuba’s economy in an attempt to force them to embrace democracy5. Schoultz’
analysis of the U.S.’ response to Cuban revolution recognizes a key fact about U.S. policy
toward Cuba in the Castro era. While there may have been a genuine desire to promote
democracy, it seems that economic and security concerns have long dominated the U.S.’ policy
on Cuba.
When Raúl Castro succeeded his brother Fidel has Cuba’s leader, repairing U.S.-Cuban
relations began to seem possible. Vegard Bye writes in his book, Cuba, From Fidel to Raúl and
Beyond, about the changing economy, culture, and politics of Cuba in the 21st century. Bye
recognizes that there was initially progress in normalizing relations, with President Obama
making great strides to sooth tensions between the two countries. Obama represented a shift in
policy from his immediate predecessor, no longer calling for regime change in Cuba6. Obama
eventually visited Cuba personally, a first for a sitting U.S. president since before Castro’s
revolution. Bye notes that the “Obama visit became a remarkable geopolitical success”7. Bye’s
writing is less optimistic when it comes to discussing the U.S.’ policies toward Cuba under
President Trump, however. Trump’s policy towards Cuba was effectively a complete reversal of
Obama’s8. Now another president later, it is possible Bye would feel more optimistic with the
current U.S. policies toward Cuba that have been easing back to what they were under Obama.
But Bye’s concern about the future of Cuba and their relations with the U.S. are understandable
and may not be soothed anytime soon.
Each of these authors demonstrates the struggles associated with U.S.-Cuba relations
over the past decades, examining the causes and effects of the conflict between the two
countries. All three contribute to the idea that this conflict is largely built on a history of
problems between the United States on Cuba that stem from the U.S.’ imperialistic practices.
Even later into the 20th century, the U.S. often escalated things that worsened relations. But as
seen in Bye’s writing, America has made progress in soothing its grudge with Cuba. Despite
differing opinions on the subject in American politics, it seems that, broadly speaking, these
authors and other experts on the subject show a trend of improving relations between the
countries after decades of tension building up.
References
1 Pérez, Louis A. Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy. 3rd ed. University of Georgia
Press, 2003. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46ng92. 239
2 Pérez, Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy, 2003, 239
3 Schoultz, Lars. “Blessings of Liberty: The United States and the Promotion of Democracy in Cuba.”
Journal of Latin American Studies 34, no. 2 (2002): 397–425. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3875794. 419 4 Schoultz, “Blessings of Liberty: The United States and the Promotion of Democracy in Cuba”, 2002, 419
5 Schoultz, “Blessings of Liberty: The United States and the Promotion of Democracy in Cuba”, 2002, 419
6 Bye, Vegard. Cuba, From Fidel to Raúl and Beyond. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-21806-5, 113
7 Bye, Cuba, From Fidel to Raúl and Beyond, 2020, 118
8 Bye, Cuba, From Fidel to Raúl and Beyond, 2020, 120