THE U.S.

IN CUBA

In the nineteenth century, Cuba was Spain’s most prosperous island but the Cubans were rebellious and
were agitating for independence.

1840-1850 Between 1840 and 1850 the U.S. made four separate attempts to purchase Cuba, in
keeping with the principle of the Monroe Doctrine. Not only did Spain refuse to sell but neither
Britain nor France was willing to see Cuba fall into American hands.

Within Cuba itself there were several popular liberal nationalist movements led by such men as
Manuel de Cespedes, Estrada Palma and Maximo Gomez, and supported by the Cuban exiles
Jose Marti and Narciso Lopez. Many thousands of Cubans died in rebellions, demanding an end
to slavery, fewer taxes and a more liberal government.

1895 While Cuban exiles tried to whip up American support against Spain, none came until the 1895
War of Independence which began with the untimely death of Marti in the first skirmishes. The
war coincided with a deep trade recession in sugar, caused by the withdrawal of U.S. tax
concessions. The Spanish Government’s harsh methods of suppression, in particular the herding
of prisoners in large barbed-wire encampments aroused U.S. indignation, as did fear for the safety
of U.S. property in Cuba and damage to trade. When the U.S. battleship Maine blew up under
mysterious circumstances in Havana, anti-Spanish sentiment reached its peak. President
McKinley declared war on Spain, in support of Cuban independence in 1898. The brief Spanish-
American War which followed ended in defeat for Spain and by the Treaty of Paris she ceded
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and Philippines.

1899 A U.S. military government was established in Cuba to restore stability and to make preparations
for a constitution and elections. A Cuban Convention was set up for this purpose.

1901 Before the independent Cuban Republic could be proclaimed, the U.S. government forced the
convention, against its better judgement, to cede Guantanamo Bay for a military base and to agree
to the Platt Amendment. This authorized the U.S. government to keep an eye on the financial
management of the Cuban government with right to interview as America saw fit. The spirit of
this amendment was in keeping with a) U.S. policy as stated by the Monroe Doctrine, i.e.
keeping out European influence; b) American conception of ‘good government’ in the Western
Hemisphere, meaning whatever best suited U.S. interests and guaranteed safety to U.S. property
and investments.

1902 Thus the independent Cuban Republic came into being in 1902 but from the very start it was
under U.S. control.

1904 The Roosevelt Corollary Monroe to the Monroe Doctrine gave added meaning to the Platt
Amendment, for it claimed for the U.S. ‘an international police power’ to intervene in any
country where “wrong doing or impotence” threatened peace and stability. A series of
interventions in Cuba followed as ‘preventive policy’ to ensure that Cuba followed the American
line.

1906 The first intervention came, when amidst charges of corruption, Palma was re-elected. A revolt
against him could not be quelled by mediation. Palma in fact hoped for outright U.S intervention
under the Platt Amendment to keep him in power. U.S. troops were landed. Palma was found to
be unpopular. An attempt was made at a compromise between Palma and the rebels. Palma
refused to cooperate although the rebels were willing. Instead, his government resigned, creating
a political crisis. The crisis was resolved by setting up an American provisional government
under General Magoon, with the tacit support of the rebels and in the continued presence of U.S.
troops. Though the Cuban Rural Guard kept order, the U.S. military remained in the background
to oversee operations.

1909 The Cuban government was restored with national elections and the inauguration of Jose Miguel
Gomez as President.

1911 A veteran’s movement agitating for the removal of government officials who had fought on the
Spanish side threatened stability to such an extent that the U.S. government threatened to
intervene. A compromise was reached when President Gomez agreed to withdraw his order
forbidding Cuban rural guard officers from participating in politics and from attending veteran’s
meetings.

1912 A racial uprising by political loaders of the Negro minority demanding a greater share in
government occurred in 1912. The Negro movement sought the repeal of a law which forbade
the formation of political parties along racial lines. The Cuban government soon announced its

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 inability to keep the peace and called for U.S. intervention. U.S. marines were landed in
Guantanamo Bay in May 1920 and the uprising petered out

1913 A more harmonious relationship between Cuba and the U.S. developed when General Mario
Garcia Menocal became President in 1913. This was largely due to the fact that Menocal was
supportive of American investments in the island.

1917 U.S. intervention again became necessary in February, 1917 at the end of a very violent
presidential election. Fearing loss to the liberal opposition, Menocal sought to bring about his re-
election through irregular manipulation of the electoral system. Votes from the provinces were
intercepted and Menocal announced his intention to use the army to keep himself in power. The
Liberal opposition under ex-President Gomez revolted. U.S. marines landed in support of
Menocal and under their supervision, new elections gave Menocal a second term as President.

The U.S. entry into World War I in April 1917 marked a new phase in U.S. - Cuban relations.
Closer military and commercial ties were established when Cuba followed the U.S. into the war.
The Cuban economy boomed with a U.S. loan of $15 million. The sugar industry rapidly
developed. Several American battalions were stationed in Camaguey and Oriente. Cuba assisted
the U.S. in raising loans for the War effort and instituting censorship of the press, postal and
telegraphs services.

1920 At the end of the War (1918) sugar prices were decontrolled and prices rose steadily. In May
1920 the highest price (22 cents per pound) was reached. The boom period saw rapid expansion
and reckless spending known as the ‘Dance of the Millions’. By December 1920, prices collapsed
to 4 cents per pound and a period of economic depression began.

1921 Presidential elections were held in a charged atmosphere of violence and corruption, with the
liberals demanding U.S. intervention, electoral reform and finally boycotting the elections. The
U.S. ‘intervened’ when President Woodrow Wilson sent General Enoch Crowder as his personal
representative to the Cuban government. Crowder stayed till 1923, forcing the conservative
government of President Zayas to drastically cut the Cuban budget in half before an emergency
loan from American bankers could be obtained. The Cuban government agreed to adopt stringent
fiscal measures, reform the corruptly run national lottery, improve the judiciary and establish a
more efficient accounting system. Under a programme of ‘moralisation’ Crowder insisted on the
formation of a new ‘honest cabinet’ by President Zayas.

1925 All this did not prevent corruption and political unrest. In 1925, the pro-U.S. General Gerardo
Machado was elected President and Cuba gradually began the drift towards dictatorship when
Machado illegally amended the Cuban constitution to perpetuate him in office and retained power
by using increasingly repressive methods. Cuban government debts mounted and American
exploitation and control of the Cuban economy increased during Machado’s regime, especially in
sugar, tobacco and tourism. The U.S. government openly supported the dictatorship of Machado
in the interests of stability and because Machado rose no awkward questions about Cuban
independence or the U.S. presence in Guantanamo Bay. During his second term in office
Machado became less popular, especially among students. This was during the period of the
Great Depression, which was partly to blame for the general discontent. Revolutionary activity
increased, opposition was terroristic in its methods, and there was widespread sabotage and the
assassination of government officials. However, Machado’s power was retained by the loyalty of
the army. Political arrests were made and the University of Havana was closed. It was often said
that the most important man in Cuba was the U.S. Ambassador in Havana.

1933-1934 By 1933, there was a reign of terror in Cuba and the U.S. Ambassador; Summer Welles
agreed to mediate between the rebels and the government. Machado was advised to resign. He
refused but when the army deserted him, he fled the country leaving power to a provisional
government under Dr. Manuel de Cespedes. But real power belonged to Fulgencio Batista, a
sergeant stenographer self-promoted to the rank of Colonel, who was in effective control of the
army. Batista was not in favour of Cespedes’ nationalist and anti-American policies. Along with
some student leaders and the army, he overthrew the provisional government by means of a coup
d’état and set up a Revolutionary council to govern Cuba. A new President, Carlos Mendieta was
installed.

Under the influence of President F.D. Roosevelt’s ‘Good Neighbour policy’, the U.S. government
did not act unilaterally to intervene in Cuba. Instead the Platt Amendment was repealed and the
U.S. role of policemen came to an end, together with political control. A new treaty was signed
with Cuba under which the only American military presence in Cuba was the naval base at
Guantanamo Bay. However, commercial and economic control remained, as millions of dollars
were invested in Cuba through funding by the Export-Import Bank established for the express
purpose of lending money to Cuba. The U.S. government increased the Cuban sugar quota in the
American market, reduced the import duty on Cuban sugar, rum, tobacco, fruits and vegetables.

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 Cuban-American trade increased rapidly, but while American exports to Cuba increased by 70%,
Cuban exports to the U.S. increased only by 20%. Moreover, Cuba’s dependence on sugar
increased and tied its sale to the United States market.

1934 - 1959 The abrogation of the Platt Amendment and ‘Good Neighbour’ policy only strengthened
Batista’s power. He took control in imitation of the fascist rulers of Europe, especially
Mussolini, till 1959.

Batista’s regime was not entirely illiberal. There were some attempts to observe constitutional
conventions. In fact, during a brief interval between 1944 and 1952, while Batista remained in the
background, Cuba made a start on political and social reform during the government of Grau San
Martin. However the socialist-inclined San Martin was in power only until 1948 and by 1952
Batista was in full control again. The majority of Cubans lived in rural poverty and were sadly
neglected and had little share in the country’s wealth in Batista’s Cuba. The economy was heavily
dependent on American capital and the fluctuating prices of the chief exports, sugar and tobacco.
A quarter of the Cuban labour force was unemployed and most Cuban enterprises were
dominated by American companies. As one person observed, “The names of the companies
involved in Cuba read like a Who’s Who of American business.” Private investment apart, the
U.S. government invested $90M in the Nicaro Nickel complex. Strong hatred for the Batista
regime was often anti-American because of U.S. tolerance of Batista, who, like Trujillo in the
Dominican Republic and Duvalier in Haiti, provided the political stability necessary for the safety
of American investments in Cuba and as a bulwark against the growing threat of communism,
during the period of the Cold War.

THE CUBAN REVOLUTION

Cuba in the 1950’s was ready for revolution. The most immediate cause was the nature of the Batista
regime with its conspicuous graft and corruption, its inhumane treatment of political dissidents and its
gross abuse of political power.

Another factor was the persistent desire of Cubans for a democratic and liberal system of government and
economic independence from what came to be termed ‘Yankee Imperialism’. The extent of U.S.
investment in Cuba and the long history of military and naval control, most visible at Guantanamo Bay,
was a constant source of frustration to Cuban nationalists, who wanted control over their destiny. The
U.S. emerged as the chief enemy of Cuban independence because of its support of the un-popular Batista.
Upper class Cubans who cooperated with the U.S. were also condemned as ‘the enemy’.

According to one observer, “A historical pattern of frustrated dreams and ideals made Cuba ripe for a
mass movement ….. What was needed was a dynamic and influential leader intelligent enough to sense
and articulate the problems and brave enough to resort to arms, in an attempt to correct them.” Such a
person eventually emerged in the person of Fidel Castro.

In 1953, a first attempt by Fidel Castro to overthrow the Batista regime failed. Castro was captured and
sentenced to a long term in prison, but later pardoned under an amnesty. In 1956 Castro tried a second
revolution, landing a small force from Mexico. Initially meeting with failure, he retreated to the Sierra
Maestra Mountains, from which he launched a successful popular revolution in 1959. Havana was
occupied and the Batista regime overthrown, as Batista’s army melted away due to desertion and
negotiated surrender. The U.S. government contributed to Castro’s success in some way by imposing an
embargo on the sale of arms to Batista at a very critical time.

Castro’s revolution took a strongly nationalist anti-Yankee character. His government embarked on a
programme of ‘social justice’ which promised distribution of unused land, faster industrialization to
create more jobs, preservation of political and civil liberties and an end to corruption and illiteracy.

When his regime announced its preference for a state-controlled economy, Castro lost the support of the
upper class and later the middle-class. Soon his strongly socialist policies brought him in direct
confrontation with the U.S. government, in whose eyes he represented the ‘dangerous and hostile
influence’ of communism. It was a well-known fact that his chief supporter was the Marxist, Che
Guevara. Relations between Castro and the U.S. government gradually deteriorated. Castro was a true
revolutionary whose ultimate goal was the remodelling of Cuban society and its economic independence
from the U.S. But since U.S. economic power in Cuba was considerable, a clash between the two
countries was inevitable. The U.S. expressed alarm at the summary trial and execution of supporters of
Batista by the revolutionary government. Castro questioned the presence of the Americans at

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Guantanamo Bay and their right to a naval base. American interests in Cuba were affected when Castro
appointed ‘interveners’ to oversee the operations of several large U.S. owned companies.

Of greater concern to U.S. interests was the Agrarian Reform Act of May 1959, under which the Cuban
government preceded in stages to nationalize large private plantations of over 400 hectares owned by
Americans and Cubans, in exchange for government bonds. While recognizing the legal right of Cuba to
nationalize foreign owned property, the U.S. government demanded “prompt, adequate and effective
compensation.”

In retaliation against the nationalization of American properties, the U.S. government refused requests for
arms sales and loans and persuaded its European allies to do likewise. Cuban exiles in Florida were
encouraged to start a counter-revolution aimed at the overthrow of the Castro regime. The result was that
the Cuban government turned to the Soviet Union for help and in May 1960, Cuba resumed diplomatic
relations with the Soviet Union which had been severed by Batista in 1953. Cuban sugar was sold to the
U.S.S.R. in exchange for machinery and crude oil. Oil companies refusing to refine Russian crude oil
were nationalized, as well as sugar lands and hotels.

In July, President Eisenhower, suspended the sugar quota for Cuba. Castro responded with further
nationalization of telephone and electric companies, oil refineries and sugar plantations. In August, Castro
refused to sign the San Jose Declaration, which declared totalitarian government to be inconsistent with
the American system. All U.S. aid programmes to Cuba were cut off and in October a complete ban on
trade with Cuba was imposed, except for medical supplies and certain food stuffs. In response, a total and
comprehensive nationalization of all foreign held enterprises in Cuba was undertaken. Trade relations
with China and the Soviet Union increased. The final break came in 1961. Alleging that covert C.I.A.
plans for the invasion of Cuba were being made, Castro demanded that the U.S. Embassy staff in Cuba be
reduced to eighteen. Instead of complying, President Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations
completely.

Castro may have started as a nationalist liberator in the mould of Jose Marti, but the threat of U.S.
hostility and intervention helped to push him towards Marxism and Cuba towards the Soviet Union. The
U.S. embargo on Cuban trade had serious economic consequences and Castro was forced to accept Soviet
aid.

BAY OF PIGS INVASION: APRIL, 1961

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) along with Cuban exiles prepared for an invasion with the
intention of overthrowing Castro, in favour of Miro Cardona. Anti-Castro propaganda was broadcast from
a radio station on Swan Island and exile forces were trained in Guatemala and Panama. The invasion was
launched with an advance attack of Cuban airports by 26 bombers disguised as Cuban aircraft. Planned
during the administration of President Eisenhower, the ill-fated mission was carried out at the start of
President Kennedy’s term of office. The entire expedition was a fiasco and an embarrassment to the U.S.
Badly planned and mismanaged, an expected U.S. air support did not materialize, there was no popular
uprising in Cuba and when the Cuban exile force of 1,297 men landed at the Bay of Pigs, almost all were
taken prisoners. Two American ships were sunk and five out of twelve exile airplanes were shot down.
After a public trial some of the prisoners were executed for past crimes under the Batista regime, while
the rest were sentenced to imprisonment. At the end of 1962 the prisoners were freed and returned to the
U.S., in exchange for $53M in food and medicine.

The C.I.A. had spent $45M on this expedition. World opinion was hostile to the U.S. action and the
policy of intervention in Cuba was abandoned by President Kennedy. The effect on Castro was to harden
his attitude towards the U.S. Soon after, he declared himself a Marxist and Cuba was declared a socialist
state on May 1, 1962.

THE SOVIET MISSILES IN CUBA CRISIS

Fear of another U.S. inspired invasion of Cuba and Soviet desire to embarrass the U.S., prompted Castro
to allow Russia to build rocket bases in Cuba. When U.S. reconnaissance planes identified Soviet missile
bases at San Cristobal, Cuba, President Kennedy demanded the bases be dismantled and missiles
withdrawn from Cuba, threatening a naval blockade if Russia refused. The Russian decision to withdraw

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was undertaken only after an understanding was reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev that ‘neither
America nor any of her allies would invade Cuba’, thus precluding the need for Soviet protection. Cuba
was thus saved from future U.S. interventions, though rumours persisted that the C.I.A. was involved in
several plans to assassinate Castro.

Cuba’s isolation was increased in 1962 when member countries of the O.A.S. voted in favour of a trade
boycott, because of alleged Cuban subversion in Venezuela. Only Mexico remained friendly to Cuba.

DETAILS OF THE ATTEMPTS BY THE U.S. TO PURCHASE OR ANNEX CUBA

1848 was the first year in which President James Polk offered to pay $100M for the purchase of Cuba.
Cuba was not only of strategic importance to the U.S. but also had a slave society where abolition as a
result of British pressure might endanger slavery in the southern United States. When Polk’s offer was
refused the U.S. resorted to unofficial attempts to seize Cuba, through private military expeditions, on
behalf of Cuban independence. Three expeditions under Narciso Lopez ended in failure.

In 1854 a second attempt at purchase was made by President Pierce. A maximum price of $130M was
offered and again refused. However, an announcement that if Spain would not sell Cuba the U.S. would
be justified in seizing it by force, (the Ostend Manifesto), was later repudiated by Pierre because of
strong opposition from American abolitionists, who were not in favour of annexation of slave territory.
In 1856 the third proposal to purchase Cuba was made by President Buchanan, who recommended an
appropriation to Congress to buy the island.

Finally in 1860, conventions of the Democratic Party adopted resolutions seeking to acquire it.

DETAILS OF THE PLATT AMENDMENT

When President McKinley undertook military intervention in Cuba in 1898, the Teller Amendment stated
that the U.S. disclaimed any intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over Cuba and that
after peace was restored, the U.S. would leave the government and control of Cuba to Cubans.

Very early in the U.S. occupation of Cuba, at the end of the Spanish American War, a movement started
with strong administrative support to annex Cuba. The Teller Amendment blocked the move.

A compromise between annexation and complete Cuban independence was achieved by the Platt
Amendment of March 2, 1901, the main provisions of which were as follows;

1. A commitment by Cuba not to sign any treaty which would impair Cuban independence or grant
foreign nations special concessions without American permission;

2. A pledge to keep the Cuban debt at a low level;

3. An extension of authority to the U.S. to intervene to protect Cuban independence and maintain
stability;

4. Ratification of the acts of the military government;

5. Granting of sites for naval base on the island;

The Platt Amendment was presented as an ultimatum either to accept it, or to face continued military
occupation. It was adopted as an appendix to the Cuban Constitution, by a vote of 16 to 11.