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Cuba
(Death toll from U.S. intervention 1912: 3,000)
(Death toll from U.S.-backed Batista regime 1952-1959:
20,000)
(Death toll from U.S.-sponsored terrorism on Cuba
1959- : 3,478)
1895-98 - Jose Marti leads a second war of independence;
US declares war on Spain.
1898 - US defeats Spain, which gives up all claims to Cuba and cedes it to the US.
A People's History of the United States: The Empire and the
PeopleUS tutelage
1902 - Cuba becomes independent with
Tomas Estrada Palma as its president; however, the Platt Amendment keeps the island under US protection and gives the US the
right to intervene in Cuban affairs.
U.S. Assumed Military Control of Cuba under provisions of the
Platt Amendment1906-09 - Estrada resigns and the US occupies Cuba following
a rebellion led by Jose Miguel Gomez.
1909 - Jose Miguel Gomez becomes president following elections supervised by
the US, but is soon tarred by corruption.
1912 - US forces return to Cuba to help put down black protests against discrimination.
Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality1924 - Gerado Machado institutes vigorous measures,
forwarding mining, agriculture and public works, but subsequently establishing a brutal dictatorship.
1925 - Socialist
Party founded, forming the basis of the Communist Party.
1933 - Machado overthrown in a coup led by Sergeant Fulgencio
Batista.
1934 - The US abandons its right to intervene in Cuba's internal affairs, revises Cuba's sugar quota and changes
tariffs to favour Cuba.
1944 - Batista retires and is succeeded by the civilian Ramon Gray San Martin.
1952
- Batista seizes power again and presides over an oppressive and corrupt regime.
1953 - Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful
revolt against the Batista regime.
1956 - Castro lands in eastern Cuba from Mexico and takes to the Sierra Maestra
mountains where, aided by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, he wages a guerrilla war.
1958 - The US withdraws military aid to
Batista.
Triumph of the revolution
Cuba 1959 to 1980s1959 - Castro leads a 9,000-strong guerrilla army into
Havana, forcing Batista to flee. Castro becomes prime minister, his brother, Raul, becomes his deputy and Guevara becomes
third in command.
1960 - All US businesses in Cuba are nationalised without compensation; US breaks off diplomatic
relations with Havana.
It was the U.S. government which refused to receive compensation1961 - US sponsors an abortive invasion by Cuban exiles
at the Bay of Pigs; Castro proclaims Cuba a communist state and begins to ally it with the USSR.
The Ultrasensitive Bay of PigsThe Cuban Missle Crisis: An Indepth Chronology1962 - Cuban missile crisis ignites when, fearing a
US invasion, Castro agrees to allow the USSR to deploy nuclear missiles on the island. The crisis was subsequently resolved
when the USSR agreed to remove the missiles in return for the withdrawal of US nuclear missiles from Turkey.
1965 -
Cuba's sole political party renamed the Cuban Communist Party.
1972 - Cuba becomes a full member of the Soviet-based
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
Interventions in Africa
1976 - Cuban Communist Party approves a new
socialist constitution; Castro elected president.
1976-81 - Cuba sends troops first to help Angola's left-wing MPLA
withstand a joint onslaught by South Africa, Unita and the FNLA and, later, to help the Ethiopian regime defeat the Eritreans
and Somalis.
Secret Cuban Documents on History of African Involvement1980 - Around 125,000 Cubans, many of them released
convicts, flee to the US.
1982 - Cuba, together with other Latin American states, gives Argentina moral support in
its dispute with Britain over the Falkland islands.
1988 - Cuba agrees to withdraw its troops from Angola following
an agreement with South Africa.
Remembering Cuba’s Sacrifice for African Liberation
1991 - Soviet military advisers leave Cuba following
the collapse of the USSR.
1993 - The US tightens its embargo on Cuba, which introduces some market reforms in order
to stem the deterioration of its economy. These include the legalisation of the US dollar, the transformation of many state
farms into semi-autonomous cooperatives, and the legalisation of limited individual private enterprise.
The Economic Sanctions Against Cuba: The Failure of a Cruel
and Irrational PolicyThe Impact Of The U.S. Embargo On The Health And Nutrition In
CubaU.S. Imperialism in Cuba: Sanctions ReconsideredOut-Platting Platt: From Colonization to Globalization
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