January 1
1959 |  | | |
Under the command of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro's forces overtake General
Fulgencia Batista's troops near Santa Clara in central Cuba. It's the last
battleground in the revolution against the dictator who had ruled Cuba since
1952. Batista flees to the Dominican Republic. Castro's revolutionary forces
assume control in Havana and Castro becomes commander-in-chief of the
provisional government's armed forces. Six days later, the United States
recognizes the new Cuban government, which already has been recognized by
several other countries. |
|
May 17
1959 |
The Cuban government enacts the Agrarian Reform Law which
limits land ownership to 1,000 acres (with the exception of a limit of 3,333
acres for land used for livestock, sugar, or rice production). The government
expropriates all other land. At the time this law is enacted, foreigners were
owners of 75 percent of Cuba's arable land and five U.S. sugar companies owned
or controlled more than 2 million acres. |
|
March 17
1960 |
President Eisenhower secretly orders CIA Director Allen Dulles to train Cuban
exiles for an invasion of Cuba. |
|
July 5
1960 |
All U.S. business/commercial property in Cuba is nationalized at the direction
of the Cuban government. Additionally, by the end of October 1960, all other
American-owned property in Cuba is nationalized. |
|
October 19
1960 |
U.S. imposes an economic embargo on Cuba prohibiting all
exports except foodstuffs, medicines, medical supplies, and a few other items
that require special licenses. Imports are still allowed.
|
|
December
1960-1962 |
James Baker, the headmaster of Havana's elite Ruston Academy, enlists Miami's
archdiocese in Operation Pedro Pan - an airlift to help get children out of
Cuba. When the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis terminates all flights out of
Cuba, Operation Pedro Pan ends. But by then over 14,000 Cuban boys
and girls age 6 to 17 had been brought to the U.S.
|
|
April 16
1961 |
For the first time, Prime Minister Castro defines the Cuban revolution as
socialist: " ... we have made a revolution, a socialist revolution, right here
under the very nose of the United States."
|
|
April 17
1961 |
U.S.-supported Cuban exiles invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
Immediately after they land, Castro calls a national alert. In the early
morning, two of the U.S.-furnished ships are sunk by Cuban planes. The invasion
fails to gain the internal support that the CIA anticipated. Two days later,
Prime Minister Castro claims victory. |
|
February 7
1962 |
The U.S. government bans all Cuban imports and re-export
of U.S. products to Cuba from other countries. Also, the U.S. cuts off aid to
any country that "furnishes assistance" to Cuba. |
|
September 26
1962 |
Congress passes a joint resolution whereby the president has the right to
intervene militarily in Cuba if U.S. interests are threatened. |
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October 2
1962 |
The U.S. government again tightens the embargo. All ports
are closed to nations that allow their ships to carry arms to Cuba, and ships
that have docked in a socialist country are prohibited from docking in the
United States during that voyage. The transport of U.S. goods is banned on
ships owned by companies that trade with Cuba. |
|
October 22
1962 |
With CIA reports that the Soviet Union is constructing sites for
intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Cuba, the U.S. evacuates all
non-essential personnel from the U.S. Guantánamo Naval Base in Cuba. At
7 p.m. EST, President Kennedy speaks on national television and announces that
there are nuclear missile sites in Cuba and he has ordered a naval blockade of
the island. |
|
October 26
1962 |
In a secret communication, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agrees not to break the U.S. blockade and offers to withdraw Soviet
missiles from Cuba if the United States pledges not to invade Cuba and agrees to remove its Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The next day at noon, Cuba downs
an American U-2 plane, killing the pilot. That same day, President Kennedy writes Kruschev and tells him that the U.S. will not invade
Cuba if the Russian missiles are removed from Cuba. Privately, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy informs the Soviet Union it will withdraw U.S.
missiles from Turkey once the crisis ends. Two days later on October 28, the worst of the Missile Crisis ends when Radio Moscow
announces that the Soviet Union has accepted the proposed solution, and has agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba. Premier Khrushchev's letter to
President Kennedy is broadcast. |
|
July 8
1963 |
The Kennedy Administration once again tightens the embargo and
makes most travel to Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens. All Cuban-owned assets in
the United States are frozen, including an estimated $33 million in U.S.
banks. |
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October 3
1965 |
President Johnson signs a new immigration law, saying, "I declare ... to the
people of Cuba that those who seek refuge here in America will find it." He
plans to ask Congress for an additional $12.6 million. |
|
October
1965 |
After Castro announces at rally in Havana in September that
Cubans who want to leave for the U.S. could depart from the port of Camarioca,
more than 3,000 Cubans leave in a boatlift from Camarioca to the U.S. The
boatlift is halted by the Cuban government in early November. |
|
November 6
1965 |
Cuba and the U.S. formally agree to start an airlift for Cubans who want to go
to the United States. This signifies the onset of the Freedom Flights program,
which enables 250,000 Cubans to come to the U.S. by 1971. |
|
May
1966 |
Congress outlaws food shipments to any country that sells or ships goods to
Cuba, except in certain circumstances. |
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November 2
1966 |
President Johnson signs into law the Cuban Adjustment Act. Any Cubans that have
reached U.S. territory since January 1, 1959, will be eligible for permanent
residency after two years of residency in the U.S. Nearly 123,000 Cubans are
able to apply immediately. |
|
September 8
1969 |
Cuba expels the Associated Press correspondent, Fenton Wheeler, who has been in
Cuba the past two years. In retaliation, Washington prohibits Cuban news
bureaus in the U.S., except for those on UN property. |
|
February 15
1973 |
U.S. and Cuba sign anti-hijacking agreement, the only
formal agreement between the two countries. But Cuba formally revokes the
agreement four years later. |
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July 10
1974 |
The embargo is loosened to allow the import of low-value gifts. In addition,
the U.S. Treasury Department eases travel-related restrictions. Scholars and
journalists with passports validated by the State Department may now pay for
expenses incurred while travelling in Cuba. |
|
September 28
1974 |
Senators Jacob Javits (R-New York) and Claiborne Pell (D-Rhode Island) travel
to Havana to meet with Castro. It's the first visit to Cuba by elected
officials of the U.S. government since diplomatic relations were severed in
1961. |
|
November
1974 |
Assistant Secretary of State William Rogers and Assistant to
the Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger conduct secret normalization talks
with Cuban officials in Washington and New York. The talks end over Cuba's
support for the Marxist revolution in Angola. |
|
August 21
1975 |
U.S. announces modifications to the Cuba trade embargo.
Subsidies of U.S. companies in third countries are allowed to trade with Cuban
and the. State Department announces that it will no longer withhold aid from
countries that trade with Cuba. Still, direct U.S.-Cuba trade is banned. |
|
December 20
1975 |
President Ford says that Cuban involvement in Angola and
in support of the Puerto Rican independence movement is preventing efforts to
improve relations. Two days later, Castro declares continued support for
revolutionary movements in Angola and Puerto Rico. |
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February 15
1976 |
Cubans vote to approve their first socialist Constitution. |
|
March 18
1977 |
U.S. government lifts prohibition on travel to Cuba and
allows U.S. citizens to spend $100 on Cuban goods during their visits. |
|
April and May
1977 |
The United States and Cuba sign agreements on fishing
rights and maritime boundaries. The two countries also agree to open
"interests sections" in each other's capitals. |
|
January 9
1978 |
The U.S. Treasury Department allows U.S. residents to provide relatives in Cuba
with no more than $500 in any three-month period. |
|
November-December
1978 |
The Committee of 75, a group of Cubans chosen to negotiate with the Cuban
government on behalf of the estimated 1.2 million Cubans outside the island,
and Cuban officials hold the first of two negotiating sessions in Havana. This
marks the beginning of "The Dialogue." At its second negotiating session, the
"Dialogue" results in agreement on three issues: Cuba will release 3,600
prisoners in toto; most of whom are political prisoners. Cuba also will help
reunite separated families. And Cubans abroad will be able to visit
relatives. |
|
July
1979 |
Cuban-supported Sandinistas overthrow the government of
Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua. |
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October
1979 |
President Carter issues Presidential Directive 52, which outlines plans to
isolate Cuba by raising charges of human rights violations and focusing on
Cuba's close relations with the Soviet Union. |
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April
1980 |
Twelve Cubans seeking asylum crash a minibus through the gates of the Peruvian
Embassy in Havana. The Peruvian chargé d'affaires announces that anyone
who wants to, can enter, leading to an overflow crowd of several thousand
Cubans who seek asylum. On April 22, Granma, the official state
newspaper of the Cuban government, announces that anyone who wants to leave may
depart by boat from Mariel, a port 25 miles from Havana. A flotilla of refugees
(eventually numbering 125,000) begins an exodus for the U.S. The U.S.
government classifies those who leave as "Entrants - Status Undetermined" and
interns them until they are claimed by relatives. |
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May
1980 |
President Carter declares a state of emergency in regions of Florida affected
by the influx of Cuban refugees. Carter demands that the Cuban government
impose an orderly departure and orders a blockade to prevent private boats from
traveling to Cuba to pick up refugees. |
|
June 7
1980 |
President Carter orders the Justice Department to expel Cubans who committed
"serious crimes" in Cuba. In December, the first of several meetings occurs
between U.S. and Cuban officials to discuss the repatriation of the
Marielitos. |
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September 26
1980 |
Cuba ends the boatlift from Mariel. |
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February 23
1980 |
The U.S. State Department releases a "White Paper" claiming that documents
prove that Cuba and other socialist countries are engaged in indirect armed
aggression against El Salvador's government. |
|
December 1
1981 |
President Reagan secretly authorizes the CIA to support operations against leftist insurgents in Central
America. Some CIA funds are earmarked for the "contras,"an armed
force--initially comprising 500 Latin Americans, later joined by 1,000 other
mercenaries trained mostly by Argentina in Honduras--to overthrow the new
Nicaraguan government, which is supported by Cuba. |
|
January 15
1982 |
The INS deports a Cuban emigré for the first time since the 1959
revolution, saying that Andrés Rodríguez Hernández hadn't
sufficiently proven a fear of persecution. |
|
April 9
1982 |
Charter air links between Miami and Havana are halted by the
U.S. government. Ten days later, the U.S. government reinstitutes the travel
ban, announcing that U.S. citizens are prohibited from making monetary
expenditures incidental to travel in Cuba. |
|
May 24
1983 |
Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Enders meets with Ramón
Sánchez Parodi, the head of the Cuban Interests Section, to request that
Cuba take back nearly 800 Marielitos who are imprisoned at the federal
penitentiary in Atlanta. |
|
October
1983 | The U.S. sends troops to Grenada, following a leftist coup
and the discovery that Cubans are being used to build an airstrip that could
have been used for military aircraft. The U.S. Senate amends a debt-ceiling
measure, urging President Reagan to hold Cuban prisoners at Grenada until Cuba
agrees to take back Marielitos. |
|
December 14
1984 |
The United States and Cuba conclude a migration pact
under which Cuba agrees to accept the return of Marielitos. |
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May 20
1985 |
After Congress passes legislation in support of operating
Radio Martí, an anti-Castro station named after Cuban patriot
Jose Marti, the station begins broadcasting to Cuba. The Cuban government
immediately jams the signal. |
|
June
1985 |
After Castro suspends the 1984 U.S.-Cuban immigration agreement, in which Cuba agreed to accept the return of Marielitos from the 1980 boatlift, the
U.S. Department of State announces that no Cuban immigrants will be accepted after June 18. |
|
October
1986 |
Marine Lt. Colonel Oliver North, who played a key role in the
Iran-contra affair, keeps notes about paying $5,000 to any contra
who captures a Cuban or Sandinista officer in Nicaragua, and the contra
leadership would receive $200,000 for every five such captives. The
House-Senate report on the Iran-contra affair, released in November
1987, details the bounties. The money to pay the bounties would come from arms
sales to Iran. |
|
November 19
1987 |
The United States and Cuba conclude a new immigration
pact that reinstates the 1984 agreement in which Cuba agreed to accept the
return of Marielitos. |
|
January 26
1990 |
Cuban television starts broadcasting "CNN World Report," a weekly CNN news
series. Cuba is one of the first countries to sign on to broadcast this report.
|
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March 23
1990 |
The U.S. launches its first test of TV Marti. After
broadcasting to Cuba for three hours, it is jammed by the Cuban government. |
|
July 29
1991 |
The U.S. Department of State halts new applications for U.S. tourist visas in
Havana, blaming it on a backlog created by Cuba's decision to lower the age
limit for travel. |
|
May 13
1992 |
The General Accounting Office, the non-partisan investigative arm of Congress,
issues a report saying that TV Martí appears to be a waste of
taxpayers' money and is not presenting balanced programming. |
|
October 15
1992 |
Congress passes the Cuban Democracy Act, sponsored by
Representative Robert Torricelli (D-New Jersey) in the House of Representatives
and Senator Bob Graham (D-Florida) in the U.S. Senate. The legislation,
commonly known as the Torricelli Bill, prohibits foreign-based subsidiaries of
U.S. companies from trading with Cuba, travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens, and
family remittances to Cuba. The law allows private groups to deliver food and
medicine to Cuba. |
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November 6
1993 |
Cuba announces it is opening state enterprises to private investment. |
|
August
1994 |
Following Castro's declaration of an open migration policy, a
new boat lift begins. 30,000 refugees set sail from Cuba, mostly from Havana
and Cojímar west of Havana. A U.S. Coast Guard blockade prevents
additional seaborne migrations. Attorney General Janet Reno announces that
authorities will seize Cuba-bound vessels intending to pick up emigrants and
all U.S. citizens involved in such activities will be prosecuted. Finally,
President Clinton, ending the 35-year-old open-door policy for Cubans, orders
the Coast Guard to intercept Cuban emigrants at sea and transport them to
Guantánamo Naval Base. |
|
September 9
1994 |
The U.S. and Cuba issue a joint communiqué
agreeing to take measures to ensure that migration between the two countries is
safe, legal, and orderly. The U.S. agrees that total legal migration to the
U.S. will be a minimum of 20,000 per year. |
|
May 2
1995 |
The U.S. and Cuba issue a joint statement reaffirming their
commitment to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration. Under this accord,
Cubans interdicted at sea or who enter the Guantánamo Naval Base
illegally are returned to Cuba provided that they do not have any protection
concerns. |
|
October 5
1995 |
President Clinton announces measures to expand
people-to-people contacts between the U.S. and Cuba and to allow U.S.
non-governmental organizations to fund projects in Cuba. |
|
February
1996 |
Cuban MIGs shoot down in international airspace two civilian
aircraft belonging to the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue. Three U.S.
citizens and one Cuban resident of the U.S. are killed. President Clinton
declares Cuba's government "repressive, violent, and scornful of international
law" and announces punitive measures against Cuba for the MiG attack on the two
civilian planes. The president suspends charter travel to Havana and asks
Congress to approve legislation to use a portion of the $100 million in frozen
Cuban assets in the U.S. to compensate the families of the victims. |
|
March 12
1996 |
President Clinton signs the Cuban Liberty and Democratic
Solidarity (Libertad) Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act. The law
enacts penalties on foreign companies doing business in Cuba, permits U.S.
citizens to sue foreign investors who make use of American-owned property
seized by the Cuban government, and denies entry into the U.S. to such foreign
investors. The legislation also bans U.S. imports of sugar from any foreign
country that buys sugar or molasses from Cuba, reduces U.S. aid to Russia and
other former Soviet republics unless their aid to Cuba is cut, and reduces
American contributions to the World Bank and other financial institutions if
they administer loans to Cuba. |
|
July 16
1996 |
President Clinton suspends enforcement of specific Title III
provisions of the Helms-Burton Act, which permits suits to be filed in U.S.
courts against foreign investors who are profiting from U.S.-claimed
confiscated property. Title III itself is allowed to go into effect on Aug. 1.
|
|
November 13
1996 |
The annual vote in the UN General Assembly on the U.S. embargo of Cuba takes
place. This time, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands cast their ballots
against the United States. It's the first time the allies have voted for the
U.S. to end its three-decade economic embargo of Cuba. Press reports cite the
allies' anger over the Helms-Burton law. Canada already had announced
retaliatory measures against the Helms-Burton law. |
|
January 3
1997 |
President Clinton again suspends the provisions of Title III in the Helms-Burton Act which permit suits to be filed in U.S. courts against foreign
investors who are profiting from U.S.-claimed confiscated property. In doing so, he points to progress made under the U.S.-led multilateral initiative to
promote democratic change in Cuba. In the next two years, he will suspend those same Title III provisions six times. |
|
February 12
1997 |
The Administration approves licenses for U.S. news
organizations to open bureaus in Cuba. Only CNN is allowed in by the Cuban
Government. |
|
April 11
1997 |
The EU agrees to suspend its World Trade Organization (WTO)
case against the Helms-Burton Act and other components of the U.S. legislation.
The U.S. and EU agree to work together to develop binding international
disciplines to deter investment in confiscated property. U.S. agrees to seek
presidential waiver authority for Title IV of the Helms-Burton Act if such
disciplines are developed and adhered to. |
|
January 21-25
1998 |
Pope John Paul II visits Cuba. |
|
March 20
1998 |
The Clinton Administration announces new measures to support
the people of Cuba and to strengthen their ties to U.S. citizens. Once again,
direct flights are allowed between Havana and Miami, and Cuban Americans are
allowed to send up to $300 every three months to island relatives through
licensed brokers. |
|
July 15
1998 |
The U.S. Coast Guard announces that almost all of Florida's coast is a
"security zone." Under the new policy, all boats less than 150 feet in length
making trips to Cuba must obtain a permit from the nearest Coast Guard station,
or risk a $10,000 fine and/or 10 years in jail. |
|
November 12
1998 |
Thirty years after it was kicked out of Cuba, The Associated Press, the world's
oldest news service, receives approval to reopen its Havana bureau. |
|
January 5
1999 |
The Clinton Administration announces additional measures to
loosen the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Government officials say the
measures are designed to help Cuban people without aiding the government of
Fidel Castro. According to the new rules, anyone in the U.S. can send up to
$1,200 a year to any individual or group in Cuba. |
|
June 29
1999 |
The U.S. Coast Guard tries to stop six Cuban refugees from reaching American
soil. Reports surface that the Coast Guard used force to deny entry. |
|
July 21
1999 |
Cuba announces that it will fine owners and operators of boats used to
illegally transport Cubans to the United States. |
|
November 25
1999
to June
2000 |
On Thanksgiving Day, six year-old Elian Gonzalez is found in the Straits of
Florida clinging to an inner tube. His mother had drowned, as did 11 others in
the raft. They were fleeing Cuba. Over the next six months U.S. relations
with Cuba are tested during the bitter struggle over returning Elian to his
father in Cuba. Cuban exiles in Miami lead the battle to keep Elian in the
U.S. [See chronology on the Elian saga.] |
|
April 5
2000 |
The ACLU files a suit against Miami-Dade County, contesting its law that
withholds money from cultural groups which promote art and entertainment from
Cuba. I |
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December 12
2000 |
U.S. and Cuban officials begin another round of talks on immigration issues. |
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