CUBA-US RELATIONS
A Historic Moment
Wednesday, 30 March, 2016
IWPR has been working with journalists and civil society groups in Cuba since 2011, helping them provide unbiased and accurate information about developments in the country while questioning authority and holding it to account. At a pivotal point for the relationship between Havana and Washington, we look at what Cubans hope - and fear – may be the consequences of the détente.
Just What Did Obama Achieve in Cuba?
Opposition figures in exile say that they are disappointed with his performance.
Ernesto García Díaz
Journalist with Cubanet News
PHOTO ESSAY
Obama in Cuba: Cheering for the Enemy
An older generation of Cubans struggle to reconcile themselves to new realities.
Frank Correa
Cuba's Private Sector Anticipates Tourism Boom
Landlords plan to benefit from excepted surge in holidaymakers.
Cuban Opposition Still Divided Over US Détente
Some see it as a unique opportunity for change, while others dismiss it as political theatre.
Havana Cleans Up For Obama
Locals are unimpressed by efforts to overhaul the appearance of an otherwise neglected city.
What Do Cubans Think of the Obama Visit?
Ordinary citizens have their own message for the US president.
On the streets of Havana, passers-by get a chance to talk about their hopes for Barack Obama's historic visit to Cuba.
Timeline: Cuba-US Relations
January 1, 1959 October 1960 January 3, 1961 April 17, 1961 October 1962 1966 1977 April-October 1980 1992 March 12, 1996 1998 November, 2001 February 19, 2008 April 13, 2009 January 14, 2013 December 10, 2013 December 17, 2014 May 29, 2015 July 20, 2015 August 14, 2015 February 16, 2016 March 21-22, 2016
Revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro oust the Cuban dictator Fulgenico Batista and declare a revolutionary socialist state.
A commercial, economic and financial embargo by the US against Cuba begins.
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower breaks all diplomatic relations with Cuba.
The Bay of Pigs
Cuban exiles in coordination with the CIA launch a botched invasion that is defeated within two days.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The US discovers Soviet nuclear missile bases on Cuban territory, leading to a 13-day stand-off, the closest the Cold War ever came to all-out nuclear conflict.
Congress approves the Cuban Adjustment Act, which gives work and residency rights to illegal immigrants from the island who reach US territory.
Jimmy Carter asks to open an office of US interests in Havana.
Mariel Boatlift
More than 125,000 Cubans flee the island for the US in just seven months, mostly heading for Miami.
The US’s Cuban Democracy Act asserts that sanctions will continue as long as the government refuses to take steps toward “democratisation and show more respect for human rights”.
The Helms Burton Act states that any non-American company that has dealings with Cuba can be subjected to legal reprisals and its directors banned from entering the US. This meant that international companies have to choose between trade with Cuba or with the US.
US president Bill Clinton authorises sending limited remittances and medical supplies to Cuba.
United States opens a high security prison at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for the “detention, treatment and trial of certain foreigners in the war against terrorism” despite Havana’s protests.
Fidel Castro retires from politics, leaving his brother Raul Castro in power.
Barack Obama allows unlimited family travel and remittances from the US to Cuba.
“It's time to let Cuban-Americans see their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers.”
Cubans are allowed to travel abroad without having to seek permission from the Cuban government.
Obama and Castro exchange a historic handshake at the funeral of Nelson Mandela.
Obama and Castro agreed to improve political, social and economic relations. Three Cuban agents still imprisoned in the US and a US citizen held in Cuba are freed.
Cuba is removed from the US’s annual official list of state sponsors of terrorism.
US and Cuba reestablish diplomatic relations and their interests sections in Washington and Havana begin to function as embassies.
John Kerry formally reopens the US embassy in Havana, the first visit to Cuba by a US secretary of state since 1945.
The US and Cuba sign an agreement to restore scheduled flights between the two countries.
Obama visits Cuba in first trip by a US president to the island in 88 years.
More on Cuba
The Great Cuban Exodus
Cubans are travelling through Mexico to get to the United States.
No Freedom of the Press Under Either Castro
Press freedom cannot exist in a totalitarian system, and Cuba is no exception.
Cuba's Lucrative Medical Aid Programme
Healthcare workers on foreign assignments have to hand over much of their pay to the Cuban government.
For Cuban Journalists, Free Expression is Still a Dream
As UNESCO event hears of increasing censorship and intimidation across Latin America, Cuban reporters talk about the especially tough environment they work in.
US Deal: Mixed Responses From Cuban Dissidents
Some see thaw as “betrayal”, others as an opportunity to set conditions that Havana must meet.
Thriving Cuban Market in Fake Goods
Home-made beauty products and soft drinks cost less than originals, but who knows what goes into them?