5 Days in Havana, Part 1: What is El Bloqueo?
Economic warfare hidden in plain sight
In February 1962, United States president John F. Kennedy phoned his press secretary in Cuba and commanded him to bring home as many of his favorite cigars as he could. Mere hours after securing 1,200 of them, he ordered an expansion of an embargo on the island that was put into place by his predecessor. Famously, his would be the only cigars brought back to the States for decades to come.
The United States’ embargo on Cuba has acted maliciously behind the consciousness of most Americans for over 60 years and counting. In that time, it has evolved and festered with devastating consequences. More than an embargo, it is apt to call it by the bellicose name that the Cuban people have been using the whole time: el bloqueo—the blockade.
Last week I traveled to Havana as part of a 44-person delegation from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Our group consisted of comrades who were:
From all over the United States—from here in Charlottesville to New York City to Miami to Austin to Ann Arbor and so forth;
Varied in thought about Cuban socialism, as well as in the best way to achieve and enact socialism in our own country;
In leadership positions within their own DSA chapters, DSA on the national level, their own local and/or state governments, and unions;
Passionate about different organizing focuses, including labor, ecosocialism, electoral, and more.
Despite our differences, we came to Havana as diplomats with a shared mission of interacting with and learning from the Cuban people at all levels of society. And we left Havana with a shared understanding and mission:
The blockade is inhumane and evil, and we must end it.
THIS IS ONE PART IN A SERIES OF FOUR POSTS:
- Part 1 provides foundational knowledge on the blockade
- Part 2 covers some of its effects on travel and schools, but counters with how revolutionary solidarity empowers the Cuban people to withstand those challenges
- Part 3 describes the harrowing impacts it has on medicine in Cuba and worldwide
- Part 4 focuses on the beauty of Cuban resiliency and its imperfect, ongoing socialist project within the Revolution
- Part 4.5 continues what turned out to be too much for one part
- Part 5 concludes with questions left unanswered and a call for action
Do I really have to sit through a history lesson?
To understand life in Cuba, you have to understand the blockade. Aside from the Cuban Revolution, it is arguably the force that has most affected every part of Cuban society, from everyday life to international relations.
The blockade is fascinating in no small part to it being one of those things in United States history that has been going on for your entire (or near your entire) life, hidden in plain sight. And it’s not only been wreaking havoc on Cuba the whole time, it’s had consequences on you and the rest of the world without you even knowing.
But what’s more fascinating is the Cuban people’s resilience in the face of the blockade. So to appreciate Cuba to the fullest extent, take a few minutes and get learnt to get your brain turnt.
It was only yesterday…
Soon after the Cuban Revolution toppled the Batista dictatorship in 1959, the revolutionary leadership started to enact reforms that included seizing land from the ruling class and redistributing it to the peasantry, as well as nationalizing industries controlled by United States companies. At one point in time, the United States government saw the Revolution as a potentially positive development due to the corruption of the previous regime. However, these disruptions to American capitalists’ stranglehold on the island ruffled more than just a few feathers.
In turn, the empire struck back, and the United States started to initiate a slew of counter-revolutionary programs to overthrow the new government via the CIA. These programs included everything from disinformation campaigns to state-sponsored armed terrorism (no doubt you at least heard of the Bay of Pigs for 5 minutes in high school, but you may never have heard of, for instance, Operation Mongoose).
The blockade is part of that attempt at regime change. Its strategy is to strangle the Cuban economy in the hopes that it will cause enough unrest to cause the people to revolt. It is part of a bet that uprisings, alongside other acts of terror and espionage, will overthrow the Revolution.
I cannot stress enough: That is not hyperbole. Those are the explicit goals of the United States government as written in their declassified documents (for example, see Phase VI, Section C of the Operation Mongoose memo).
If you want to learn more about the history of the Revolution and the US's attempt to overthrow it, check out the podcast Blowback Season 2—I cannot recommend this enough!The mechanics of the blockade
One thing I’m thankful for upon my return to the States is that people have been inquisitive. Their reactions to some very basic things we talk about lead them to start naturally questioning the blockade:
Why can’t you bring back cigars?
Cruise ships used to be able to go to Cuba; why not now?
Why can you only stay at one hotel as a US citizen?
While the subjects of these questions may seem trivial, the answers to them have deep imperialist roots with far-reaching consequences. They are a gateway to deeper questioning and understanding.
The blockade has undeniably achieved its “crippling” goal and continues to build upon it even if it has never achieved its “toppling” one. This is thanks to the Cuban people’s resiliency, as well as their steadfastness to their revolutionary ideals over the last 60 years.
Consider two of the harshest sanctions of the blockade:
Any vessel that docks in Cuba for trade cannot dock in the United States for 180 days. Cuba is 90 miles from the United States, the world’s premiere trade partner. How often would you send a ship to Cuba for trade if you knew it couldn’t also then conduct business in the wealthiest country in the history of the world for 6 months?
Some do make the trip. When we were walking along the Malecón outside of our hotel, one of our Cuban hosts pointed out a ship that had been floating in the water for the last few days. The ship was making sure everything was in order to cross into Cuban territory because they know the consequences of the blockade.
It’s extremely difficult for Cuba to make international financial transactions, such as procuring loans and establishing credit, because the United States has extreme influence over the international banking system [as the wealthiest country in history of the world].
Part of the blockade is the US putting Cuba on its State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list, which exacerbates these issues.
I’ll describe more what about what sanctions like this mean in practice in the next parts of this series, but in short, it creates compounding crises. Imagine not being able to import or export food freely. Imagine not being able to import oil. Imagine not being able to import parts for your machinery or resources to build and repair modern infrastructure.
And for those who are still focused on their vices: No, visitors cannot bring back Cuban rum and cigars to the US (commodities that would undoubtedly be very popular and bring a lot of money to the island). So if you go to Cuba, while you’re there, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!
Et tu, Biden?
An understandably common question that comes up when talking about the blockade is, “I thought Obama ended the embargo during his term—what happened?”
Yes, during Obama’s term, he and Raul Castro went into negotiations to reestablish relations between the US and Cuba. Obama did not end the blockade. The negotiations led to his loosening of some restrictions—most notably on travel and trade—and removing them from the SSOT list.
When Trump entered office, he restarted an aggressive policy towards the island, enacting 243 sanctions that refroze Obama’s thaw and then some. Just a few days before leaving office, Trump re-added Cuba to the SSOT list.
There was hope that Biden, as Obama’s previous VP, would follow his old buddy’s lead, but he has yet to do so despite it taking only political will and a stroke of his pen.
The blockade is a bipartisan evil.
One Ring to Rule Them All
One of the amazing things about the blockade is that it is recognized as an abomination by nearly the entire international community.
Every year since 1992, the United Nations has passed a resolution to condemn the blockade. Further, the UN voted overwhelmingly in 2021 (184-2), 2022 (185-2), and today (187-2) to demand an end to the blockade. But the US has the ring: its veto power renders the opinions of the rest of the world useless. So it vetoes, the blockade persists, and the suffering continues.
If you want to dig in more into what other countries said about the blockade during this year’s “debate,” check out these live tweet threads for day 1 and day 2. Venezuela will get you fired up on day 1, and Bolivia sets up Cuba for the ultimate spike on day 2.
Notice the other 'no' vote. If that leads you to make connections between the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the blockade of Cuba, I think that's valid. Even though the situations are very different, they're cut from the same imperialist cloth.Not-so-hot takes
Why is the United States government so aggressive? They claim it’s about authoritarianism, terrorism, and human rights. They claim this despite dubious claims that the rest of the world doesn’t buy. They claim this despite contradictorily continuing to support governments like Saudi Arabia (which… votes against the blockade).They claim this while openly having funded terrorism against the state that it claims does terrorism.
I don’t think there’s one definitive set of reasons, but here are a couple of assessments:
I think it’s reasonable to say that the US suffers from a Cold War hangover. To maintain power, it resorts to toxic, machismo methods of saving face. The most powerful country in the history of the world, short of a full-scale invasion, has not been able to end the Revolution, so it chooses to play a long game—a war of attrition—to make the Cuban people suffer in order for the US to “win” in the end.
If the blockade is lifted and Cuba thrives as a socialist state, it “risks” threatening the United States’ hegemony and the validity of its imperialist, capitalist world order. But one has to wonder: If Cuban socialism thriving is such a threat to global capitalism, why don’t the US’s allies and other advanced capitalist nations think that the blockade is worth keeping in place?
Another reason is that US presidential candidates want to cater to the Cuban American community in South Florida in order to win the state in the primaries and general election. The majority of this community is made up of ultra-conservative hardliners who want (and have historically been involved in the attempts at) regime change. Never forget Bernie getting piled on in 2020 both on the debate stage and in the press because he dare comment on the merits of the Revolution’s literacy program (Cuba has a near 100% literacy rate; the US is at 79%).
Note that while this particular sect of Cuban Americans ultimately wants to see the blockade continued, their take is a little more nuanced since they still have family ties to Cuba. They support easing restrictions in such areas as travel, food, and medicine, so continuing the full blockade to gain votes is nonsense.
I hope that you found this background context useful. I’m excited to move on to talk more about my experience in Havana in my next posts.
By the way, I don’t claim to be an expert on Cuba. Reading and listening to material over the last year and a half and visiting the country once doesn’t make me an authority on anything.
I do know one thing, though: The blockade must end. The Cuban people must be allowed to live.
If you have questions, I’m happy to answer them as well as I can. Please don’t hesitate to ask.
Peace,
Greg
PS: A better world is possible—join DSA today and let’s fight for it together 🌹
PPS: Some photos are mine but others are from other comrades on the trip (who I won’t name for anonymity’s sake unless any of you reading this wants credit!)
