Introduction
In this essay is to clarify my opinion on why the U.S. should not lift the embargo on Cuba. Many critics have expressed their opinion as to why, the embargo should be lifted. This paper will explain why united States order a trade embargo against Cuba? What are the results for both countries? [What was the effect of the embargo on the citizens of Cuba and what was the result of the embargo on the US?], and what did the Cuban Government do to retaliate against the Trade Embargo? Finally, look at the strategic results and necessity for trade embargo in a globally interconnected economy.
When the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish American war of 1898, Cuba along with Puerto Rico and Guam were signed over to the United States by Spain. The United States had the right to involve in the affairs of Cuba at any time. When Castro overthrew the existing government, run by President Batista, the United States supported this action by imposing arms embargo against the Batista government in 1958. Then in or about 1960, Castro not only seized private lands and companies of Cuban citizens, but also subsidiaries of the United States of America. This is when the Eisenhower administration imposed trade restriction with the exception of food and medical supplies. Not only was Castro started trading with the Soviet Union; but the Soviet Union also building missile bases in Cuba; the United States severed all ties and imposed a permanent embargo on Cuba at the direction of President Kennedy on February 7th, 1962 He first ordered 1200 Cuban cigars, before signing the Embargo.

Trade embargoes have long been a part of modern economic and political strategies used by countries to gain certain advantages over their competitors, secure their national interests and those of their allies, as well as to penalize countries that differ on political, economic and sometimes even social and ideological understanding. In modern western societies, we are most familiar with trade embargoes as they have specifically been used to affect the well-being and politics or progress of non-democratic nations including Iran, Cuba, and North Korea – perhaps the three most popular victims of embargoes in the 21st century. The most longstanding and widely applied embargoes in modern economic history are those imposed against the Cuban government for the last fifty years by the United States government. While these embargoes have been imposed with the intention to bring about democracy and betterment, they have had unintended and severe effects in the form of health consequences for the Cuban people. In two articles on the impact of the United States embargo on the health of the Cuban people, “The Politics of Suffering: the Impact of the U.S. Embargo on the Health of the Cuban People” and “Fifty Years of U.S. Embargo: Cuba’s Health Outcomes and Lessons,” the authors, Kuntz (1994) and Drain and Barry (2010), argue that the United States led embargoes against Cuban which have lasted for decades now have had serious impact on the health and well-being of the Cuban people and that the impact in terms of negative health consequences continue to wear and tear at Cuban society as the people rather than the Cuban ruling regime suffers. The authors of both articles take a similar stance on the impact of U.S. embargoes against Cuba and both argue its negative consequences from a healthcare perspective by pointing out that the embargoes are not achieving what they were intended to do, but are instead causing suffering among the Cuban people and making their lives severely harder. For example, in their article, Drain and Barry (2010) argue that the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba which was enacted after Fidel Castro’s revolution overthrew the Batista regime, reached its 50th year in 2010 without achieving its stated goal of bringing democracy to the Cuban people. Similarly, Kuntz (1994) argues that the past decades have been difficult for the Cuban people as economies of Cuba’s major trading partners collapsed and the U.S. embargo against Cuba continued to erode its economic foundation. Citing a 2009 U.S. Senate report which concluded “the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose,” Drain and Barry (2010) review the consequences of the embargo on Cuban societal health and point out that the findings from reports and evidence indicate consequences which are abhorrent and contrary to what we endorse for a democratic society and the betterment of people. Similarly, Kuntz (1994) states that in June 1993 a delegation that included members of the American Public Health Association traveled to Cuba to investigate the health situation in the country, with an emphasis on the impact of the U.S. embargo. During this investigation, the delegation found that compared to a few years before, the general standard of living in Cuba and the quality of health services have declined dramatically.

In two articles on the impact of the United States embargo on the health of the Cuban people, “The Politics of Suffering: the Impact of the U.S. Embargo on the Health of the Cuban People” and “Fifty Years of U.S. Embargo: Cuba’s Health Outcomes and Lessons,” the authors, Kuntz (1994) and Drain and Barry (2010), argue that the United States led embargoes against Cuban which have lasted for decades now have had serious impact on the health and well-being of the Cuban people and that the impact in terms of negative health consequences continue to wear and tear at Cuban society as the people rather than the Cuban ruling regime suffers. The authors of both articles take a similar stance on the impact of U.S. embargoes against Cuba and both argue its negative consequences from a healthcare perspective by pointing out that the embargoes are not achieving what they were intended to do, but are instead causing suffering among the Cuban people and making their lives severely harder. For example, in their article, Drain and Barry (2010) argue that the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba which was enacted after Fidel Castro’s revolution overthrew the Batista regime, reached its 50th year in 2010 without achieving its stated goal of bringing democracy to the Cuban people. Similarly, Kuntz (1994) argues that the past decades have been difficult for the Cuban people as economies of Cuba’s major trading partners collapsed and the U.S. embargo against Cuba continued to erode its economic foundation. Citing a 2009 U.S. Senate report which concluded “the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose,” Drain and Barry (2010) review the consequences of the embargo on Cuban societal health and point out that the findings from reports and evidence indicate consequences which are abhorrent and contrary to what we endorse for a democratic society and the betterment of people. Similarly, Kuntz (1994) states that in June 1993 a delegation that included members of the American Public Health Association traveled to Cuba to investigate the health situation in the country, with an emphasis on the impact of the U.S. embargo. During this investigation, the delegation found that compared to a few years before, the general standard of living in Cuba and the quality of health services have declined dramatically.

A Trade Embargo is an order by a government of one country to stop trade with a specific country (Wyant, 2012). The purpose and goal of an embargo is to restrict commerce (trade, export, import, selling, business,) or exchange (communication) with a specified country. Embargos tend to originate mostly between or among countries when there is a hostile and unfavorable political or economic situation or atmosphere between nations. The aim of the restriction is to isolate the country and create difficulties for its governing body and citizens as a method of forcing the government to act on the core issue that evoked the embargo (Wyant, 2012). Trade embargos are not only imposed for political reasons, but also for economic reasons. For example, a country may impose a trade embargo as a method of “protecting jobs” in order to keep employment at a certain level. If jobs are shipped out of the United States for example, this will cause a rise in unemployment, but if an embargo is ordered in for the industry to protect and keep the jobs in said country, then employment will increase in the United States. National Security is one of the top if not the priority of any country. Historically, this has been the reason why the United States ordered an embargo against Cuba. The history of embargos against Cuba began when the US government found out that the Soviet Union was building missiles in Cuba. This was perceived as a threat of communism, especially with Cuba being only 90 miles away from the United States. As a result of this, President John Kennedy called for a National Security embargo against Cuba. The embargo pushed thousands of Cubans to seek political asylum in many foreign countries including the United States. While the embargo created a strain on the Cuban economy, and US-Cuba, as well as US-USSR, and eventually, US-Cuba relationship, the US felt compelled to make this drastic decision because the country was in danger of being wiped out by Soviet Union and Cuba. President Kennedy made the right to protect the citizens of the United States a priority. As a result of the embargos and the US’s tough stance on the issue, the missiles were removed from Cuba when President Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union accepted President Kennedy’s proposal to remove Missiles from Turkey and to disarm Cuba. President Fidel Castro retaliated by releasing approximately125 thousands of Cuban citizens into the United States. Castro released the most deranged minded, criminals, murderers, and some of the most deviant and dysfunctional people into the United States via Mariel Flotilla.in the 1980s. “The Mariel Flotilla” was named after the port from which it sailed. This must have decreased the impact of the embargo in the form of relief for more food, supplies, medicine for the Cubans left (Griswold, 2005).
Conclusion and Implications
The trade embargo imposed on Cuba by the United State of America should not be lifted in my opinion. What must be acknowledged is that Cuba is a communist country. The leaders have no regards for their citizens, and Castro and his brothers have no regards for the United States and its citizens. Some will say that the U.S. is missing out on investments, trade and tourism, while other countries are benefiting. That is all good and well, but the safety of our country and the people is the number one priority of the United States government.
There are arguments that the embargo was a failure for the U.S. (Griswold, 2005). Today Cuba’s president Fidel Castro is still in power despite handing over power to his brother Raul Castro, and the U.S. is still selling to Cuba. In 2008, the U.S. sales to Cuba were $710 million (Suddath, 2009). This does not mean that Castro has gained, or won anything. If we are trading and allowing flights to Cuba, then why not lift the embargo. We the United States is not in any threat with Missiles since as far back as 1998. So why not lift the embargo? A Trade Embargo seems to be a good legal strategy used to protect the National Security of its citizens, to keep jobs from shipping abroad, to keep unemployment down in the country. The embargo, may not work for the specific order intended, but it will still create hardship on the intended country, and perhaps eventually create changes based on the levels and types of responses.
References
Griswold, D. (2005). Four Decades of Failure: The U.S. Embargo against Cuba. The CATO Institute. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/publications/speeches/four-decades-failure-us-embargo-against-cuba
Suddath, C. (2009). A Brief History of U.S.-Cuba Relations. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891359,00.html
Wyant, J. (2012). Trade Restrictions. Economics Tutor Online. Retrieved from http://economicsonlinetutor.com/TradeRestrict.html
Drain, P.K., & Barry, M. (2010). Fifty Years of U.S. Embargo: Cuba’s Health Outcomes and Lessons. Science, Vol. 328, No. 5978, pp. 572-573. DOI: 10.1126/science.1189680.
Knapp, T.L. (2009). Who Benefits from Embargos? Center for Stateless Society, November 2, 2009. Retrieved from http://c4ss.org/content/1369
Kuntz, D. (1994). The Politics of Suffering: the Impact of the U.S. Embargo on the Health of the Cuban People. International Journal of Health Services, Volume 24, Number 1, 1994, 161 – 179. DOI: 10.2190/L6VN-57RR-AFLK-XW90.