The many complaints that the United States has against Fidel CastroÆs regime in Cuba can nearly all be traced back to root causes either created or influenced by United States policy. Over the course of CubaÆs history the U.S. has systematically subverted both CubaÆs attempts at sovereignty and its advancements towards economic independence. By acting against the formation of an independent Cuba and supporting despotic regimes, the U.S. fostered a strong anti-American sentiment in the minds of the Cuban people. All of these factors worked together to contribute to the current and longstanding problems between the U.S. and Cuba.
The U.S. began their direct involvement in Cuba at the end of CubaÆs war for independence. Though there was little effort necessary to push the Spanish out of Cuba and its other possessions, the U.S. quickly used the opportunity to establish a significant military presence in Cuba after the end of the Spanish-American war. That position was quickly used to U.S. advantage when the addition of the Platt Amendment to CubaÆs new constitution was made a condition to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Cuba (Healy). The Platt Amendment limited the rights of Cuba to conduct its own foreign policy and granted the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuba ôfor the preservation of Cuban independence and the maintenance of a stable government, adequately protecting life, property, and individual libertyö(Fitzgibbon). In the time that followed, U.S. companies invested large amounts of capital into developing CubaÆs two largest export products, sugar and tobacco. Shortly after the passage of the Platt Amendment, the U.S. signed the Reciprocity Treaty with Cuba in 1903. The effect of this agreement was to reduce U.S. tariffs on Cuban Sugar by 20 percent and to reduce Cuban duties on American products by 25-40 percent. President Theodore Roosevelt candidly discussed the purposes behind the treaty:
I urge th...