Cuba Past and Present

By Taylor Woodward

Revolution Leader Fidel Castro Breaks Ties with U.S.

and Allies Himself with the Soviet Union

At first Cuba made the US believe that Cuba was

going to become a democratic country and the US
welcomed them. Then Castro came into the picture
and the US realized they were not becoming
democratic.

Castro stopped supporting Cubas 1952 military

pact with the US and started to make Soviet Union
like collective farms. The US knew that Castro was
moving Cuba into a bad position so the US removed
its support.

January 3rd, 1961, the US finally removed itself

from Cuba. Castro then made an alliance with
Russia and this made many Cubans leave Cuba.

Bay of Pigs Disaster

In 1961 a US group made a group out of Cuban
Exiles. They planned an invasion on cuba with the
help of Kennedy.

On April 17th, they landed at the Bay of Pigs but it

turned into a huge deal. They didnt receive much
support from Cuba. They were fought off by Cuban
Missiles.

Soviet Missile Crisis

In 1962, a soviet attempt to install medium ranged
missiles in cuba. That attempt caused a bigger crisis
than expected because it was a threat to America.
JFK stepped in and tried to stop the missiles from
being delivered.

Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, said

that he would stop the delivery for a US pledge to
not attack Cuba. On September 1st, 1977, the US
and Cuba made diplomatic ties. This helped Cuban
Americans visit Cuba.

In Poor health Castro Announces his retirement

17 months after Castro had his surgery, he

announced that he was very ill and not well enough
to be president again. Right after this
announcement, he told the brazilian president on
national television that he felt great.

He was then re-elected president later that month.

Then a month later, Castro was ready to resign.
After his ruling of 49 years Castro retired at the age
of 81. His brother then became the next ruler of
Cuba.

Cubans began to win small freedoms

At the UN in February 2008, Foreign Minister
Felipe Prez Roque signed the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and also the
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights. These documents have helped Cuba
in a positive way.

The Covenants make sure that citizens' have

political and civil freedom. They also guarantee
them the right to work, have fair wages, social
security, education, and high standards of physical
and mental health. Basically making sure they are
getting all of the rights they deserve.

Cuba Takes Possible Steps Toward a New Leader Not

Named Castro

On April 19th, 2011, Cuba made a huge change in its

leadership role. This caused such an impact. This
role hasnt been accepted to anyone else since the
Castro brothers. This role is the second highest
position in the Communist party. The new rulers
name was Jose Ramon Machado.

In October 2011, buying and selling cars became

legal in Cuba. Jose also made it legal for Cubans to
go into their own businesses. He also made and
approved a lot more jobs to lower the
unemployment rate.

Pope makes Long awaited visit

On march 26th, 2012 Pope Benedict visited Cuba. It
was the first visitation since Pope John Paul who
went to Cuba 14 years ago. Pope Benedict visited
Cuba right after the tensions between the cuban
government and the Church were resolved.

Pope Benedict visited Cuba to help push them

toward freedom. He said that he is convinced that
Cuba is looking forward to their future of freedom
and that they are trying to become more democratic.

Exit Visa Requirement Dropped

On october 16th, 2012, the Cuban government said
that people would not be required to have an exit
visa to leave the country. This policy came about as
a way to help with the change of Cuba and the US
relationship between citizens. This brought the
newest policy to play.

A new policy from January 2013 says that Cubans

can leave the country for the rest of their lives or
just for vacations as long as they have a valid
passport. But the policy also says that if they are out
of the country for over 2 years, they will loose their
citizenship.

Cuba Resumes Diplomatic Relations with U.S.

Alan Gross was sentenced 15 years for getting

communications out of the Cuban government
control. After his release of Alan Gross Barrack, the
US agreed to keep communicating with Cuba.

There hasnt be any diplomatic relations with the

US and the Cubans since 1961. Pope Francis
actually had to negotiate the two countries to try to
become civil and make things better between the
two countries. Things are not as friendly as other
countries are but there are still problems that are
being worked out.