A commercial, economic, and financial embargo (or a blockade) was imposed by the United States of America against the country of Cuba as a movement against Fidel Castro’s government rule. The United States Embargo against Cuba was issued on February 7, 1962.
The Cuban embargo was enacted as a response to the Castro government’s deprivation of properties of United States citizens, as well as American corporations, within the area of Cuba. Most notable of American corporations affected were the United Fruit Company and the ITT.
The Cuban embargo was made into a law and passed in 1992. The passing of the law is stated to provide for the bringing of democracy to the Cuban people. The law was actually entitled the Cuban Democracy Act. Congress later afterwards passed the Helms-Burton Act in 1996, which gave further restrictions to United States citizens planning on managing any form of business either within the region of Cuba or with Cuba or Cubans. The Helms-Burton Act also mandated restrictions regarding public or private assistance to any successor regime in Havana until a number of claims against the government of Cuba were met. Then United States President Bill Clinton later modified the trade embargo in 1999, and required that foreign subsidiaries of companies based in the United States stop trading with Cuba. Clinton also authorized the legal sale of a number of US products to the country of Cuba.