Cuba EmbargoThe United States imposed an embargo on Cuba on October 19, 1960. Has the time come for the United States to lift the five-decade embargo? The Cuba embargo was part of the United States' Cold War strategy against the Soviet Union, imposed on the basis that Cuba posed a threat to United States national security due to its alliance with the Soviet Union. Although Cuba wants the United States to end the embargo against its country, the United States wants Cuba to make its situation a better living environment and promote human rights for its citizens. The Cuban embargo, also known as "el bloco" to Cuban citizens, was declared by the United States in 1960 to eliminate imports of Cuban goods. When the embargo was first imposed, it was intended only to eliminate food and medicine, but on February 7, 1962, the embargo was extended to all exports. President Kennedy announced the embargo citing "the subversive offensive of Sino-Soviet communism with which the government of Cuba publicly aligns itself" (Galeano). “We have a hemispheric commitment to freedom, democracy and respect for human rights,” said José Cardenas, a former member of Cuba's National Security Council. With only 90 miles of sea between the United States and Cuba, the embargo is stifling Cuba's main trading partner and the island's tourism. By the early 1960s, the United States had severed ties with Cuba and was committed to overthrowing the Castro regime. In 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed attempt by the CIA to crush the government, stoking Cuban distrust and nationalism, resulted in secret agreements allowing the Soviet Union to build a missile base on the island. The United States discovered these plans, triggering a fourteen-day standoff. US shi...... middle of paper .......d., n. pag..William J. Clinton "Remarks on Signing the Cuban Freedom and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (LIBERTAD)," March 12, 1996. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=52531 Frank, Merc. n.d., n. pag..Galeano, Javier. "'No cigar: Economic embargo on Cuba turns 50.'" USA Today News 07 02 2012, n. page. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-07/cuba-us-embargo/53000402/1>. Lindsay, James. n.d., n. pag..Sullivan, Mark. Congressional Research Service, October. 0..