Classified documents reveal intent and impact of 60 years of US economic embargo on Cuba

The World

It’s now been 60 years since the US imposed a trade embargo on Cuba. To mark the anniversary, the National Security Archive has posted a selection of previously declassified documents that show that the initial goal of the embargo was to create “hardship” and “disenchantment” among the Cuban population and the overthrow of the government of Fidel Castro. They also show that by the early 1980s, the US government had concluded that the sanctions “have not met any of their objectives.” Marco Werman speaks with Peter Kornbluh, the National Archive’s senior analyst for Latin America.

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