On 3 January 2026, US forces abducted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, claiming he was controlling drug operations through Venezuela. As the Venezuelan government changed hands, and the new leader complied with American interests in oil, one country was left to face devastating energy problems and ongoing threats: Cuba. Since Venezuela supplied most of Cuba’s crude oil, the shortage led to nationwide blackouts. Despite these challenges, tensions have not eased: even after the toppling of Maduro and as the war with Iran rages, President Trump has pinpointed Cuba as the next US target. In March, a Russian tanker supplied Cuba with emergency oil, providing only brief relief. As US companies gradually take over Venezuelan oil operations and Trump’s threats intensify, Cuba once again faces its northern neighbour. After the oil crisis, President Miguel Díaz-Canel recalled Cuba’s legendary heritage: “The concept of revolutionaries giving up and stepping down – it’s not part of our vocabulary.”
To understand Cuba’s relationship with the United States, it is important to revisit the 19th century, when the US supported Cuban resistance against Spanish colonial rule. From 1511 until the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Spain colonised and exploited the island, relying on slave labour for sugar and tobacco plantations. The war began after the USS Maine exploded in Havana harbour, prompting US intervention. Following victory, Spain ceded control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. However, the 1903 Platt Amendment allowed the US to intervene in Cuban affairs, limiting true independence and preventing other foreign powers from gaining influence. The subsequent period was marked by poverty, frequent changes in US-backed leadership and unrest. In the 1910s, sugar prices rose due to global shortages, benefiting Cuba’s economy as the US was the main importer. This prosperity was short-lived; the sugar market collapsed after the Wall Street crash, leading to the overthrow of Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship.
One notable figure emerged amidst this chaos: Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar. A former sergeant stenographer, he acted behind the scenes as a kingmaker during the 1930s until he was eventually elected president in 1940. His first term was relatively peaceful, with a new constitution enacted during his first year. The constitution of 1940, in which the island state was defined as “a unitary and democratic republic for the enjoyment of political freedom, social justice, individual and collective welfare and human solidarity”, introduced reforms such as equal pay and free education. As a former puppetmaster, Batista’s first term wasn’t necessarily democratic nor revolutionary, but rather a masterful show of how Batista’s manipulative abilities could be altered for populism. After his first term, he went to Florida for a while until he wished to run again in 1952: seeing that it was highly unlikely he would be elected this time, and having formerly established American support behind him, he instead staged a coup and seized power. A new period in which Cuba’s people would once again prove their courage had come.
These new anti-Batista forces, who would change Cuba’s trajectory forever, were mostly inexperienced students led by two idealist brothers: Fidel and Raúl Castro. Fidel was a lawyer who would have participated in the next elections if they were not cancelled by Batista. After his coup, Batista’s dictatorial tendencies bore fruit; he allowed the American mafia to flood Cuba’s beaches, and crime, prostitution and gambling ran rampant. The Castro brothers, alongside 165 comrades, led an attack against the Moncada army barracks on 26 July. Batista’s forces killed almost half of the attackers, and both Castro brothers were arrested. This particular attack would give its name to the 26 July Movement later, especially after Castro’s “History Will Absolve Me” speech during his trial. His rhetorical power would prove to be a force during the revolutionary struggles as well. Gugnin et al would explain it as such:
“In his speeches to the public, Castro used simple language, understandable to the worker and the peasant, and for persuasiveness, he inserted quotations from the Bible from time to time.”
After Batista declared a general amnesty, both Castro brothers would be freed and travel through Latin America to find recruits for this new, young movement. In Mexico, they would meet and befriend another future revolutionary: the Argentinian doctor Che Guevara. He would not only become a key figure in the administrative affairs of the revolution and prove himself to be a master of propaganda, but also the icon for Cuba as a whole, still immediately recognised around the world. Unlike Fidel, who was at the time simply anti-imperialist, Che leaned towards Marxist-Leninist ideals fervently. Camilo Cienfuegos, who would become commander-in-chief in the future, joined the 26 July Movement in Mexico as well. With around 82 insurgents present, the group rented a boat, Granma, from an American couple and set sail towards Cuba to face Batista once again, three years after the failed Moncada attack.
However, the group would be overwhelmed against Batista’s highly equipped forces, and only 12 would remain, among them the revolutionary leaders. In haste, they would climb the Sierra Maestra mountains, and they would establish a base for their revolutionary efforts. During this time, Che would establish Radio Rebelde, a station that would prove to be effective for enlisting recruits. The members would source out nearby peasants as well and introduce them to the ideas of the movement. They also started teaching literacy to those living in nearby settlements as well. Although the US government continued to give support to Batista, the group welcomed The New York Times reporter Herbert Matthew to their barracks up in the mountains, which would create warmer sentiments towards these revolutionaries in the American population. He would try to explain the vague ideology of the group as follows:
“Fidel Castro and his 26th of July Movement are the flaming symbol of this opposition to the regime. The organization, which is apart from the university students’ opposition, is formed of youth of all kinds. It is a revolutionary movement that calls itself socialist. It is also nationalistic, which generally in Latin America means anti-Yankee.”
The fighters, gaining support from the general area and slowly finding recruits, now numbering around 800, finally found enough force to push back against the government soldiers in the summer of 1958. In the same year, the US would withdraw military aid to Batista completely, believing him to be an incompetent leader and particularly lacking in power to stop the insurgents. Now, the revolutionaries would be on the offensive, and instead of attacking garrisons around the mountains, they faced the forces head-on. Camilo Cienfuegos went towards Yaguajay with 60 men by his side: during his journey, almost 400 more joined. The garrison, facing a shortage of ammunition and supplies, eventually surrendered. Meanwhile, Che Guevara’s forces had been stationed near Santa Clara, and after several skirmishes throughout the city, they captured Santa Clara, which he eventually announced on Radio Rebelde. As he faced one defeat after another and saw no American support, Batista fled Cuba in haste.
In January 1959, Castro and all his comrades entered Havana, victorious after many misfortunes, and greeted by joyful masses. He gave a speech shortly afterwards, to remind how far the revolutionaries had come:
“We have made headway, maybe taken a big step forward. Here we are in the capital, here we are in Columbia: the revolutionary forces have apparently prevailed; a government has been formed and recognized by several countries in the world; it seems the peace has been won. Nevertheless, we mustn’t be complacent. While the people were laughing today, while the people were cheering, we were worrying; and the bigger the crowds that came to welcome us, and the greater the jubilation of the people, the more we worried, because also the greater was our obligation to history and to the people of Cuba.”
The revolutionaries started their reforms almost immediately, which would create a new era of bilateral relations between Cuba and its northern neighbour, the US, while still observing the circumstances after Batista. They had recognised Cuba only six days after the revolution, but just like the Soviets, they were wary of these new burly men claiming freedom for Cuba. As Nikita Khrushchev would reveal in his memoir:
“At the time that Fidel Castro led his revolution to victory and entered Havana with his troops, we had no idea what political course his regime would follow. We knew that there were individual Communists participating in the movement which Castro led, but the Communist Party of Cuba had no contact with him… When Castro’s men captured Havana, we had to rely completely on newspaper and radio reports, from Cuba itself and from other countries, about what was happening… We had no official contacts with any of the new Cuban leaders and therefore nothing to go on but rumours.”
The first move the revolutionaries would take was a purge against Batista supporters, and soon afterwards, the revolution partially revealed its leftist leanings, notably by forming a coalition which included the Cuban Communist Party. Next came economic and agricultural reforms. American sugar plantations were broken up, given to Cubans, and all future land purchases would be allowed only for Cuban citizens. In 1959, American companies owned about 40% of the Cuban sugar lands, almost all the cattle ranches, 90% of the mines, 80% of the utilities and all the oil industry. Gradually, these American enterprises would be transferred to the state instead. Additionally, sugar became a key component in US–Cuba relations. At the time, the US was the importer of almost 50% of the Cuban sugar reserves. As the nationalisation rate escalated, the US halted all sugar operations. As a result, Cuba found a new, but still expected ally in the USSR: they promised to buy the same amount of sugar exported to the US. During this time, it is estimated that the American mafia alone lost 100 million in investments.
The 1960s would prove to be a particularly tumultuous time for both American neighbours. Incredibly wary of each other’s motives, the US and USSR would enter a period of never-ending rivalry that would last around 45 years, as both sides strived for technological leaps and to obtain influence all around the world. As Cuba found support in the USSR, the US took heavier measures against Cuba, barring the Latin American country from obtaining arms and cutting all diplomatic relations. As a result, Cuba naturally went into the Soviets’ orbit. The main source of Cuban oil was Venezuela, and the USSR started oil shipments in 1960. Cuba officially became a socialist country.
Meanwhile, the US was taking steps not only economically and diplomatically but also resorting to other methods. Cuban exiles with anti-Castro stances were recruited by the CIA for an invasion. Planned during Eisenhower’s term and executed after Kennedy had been elected, the Bay of Pigs invasion happened in April 1961 and resulted in the US forces’ defeat. Whether the US underestimated the Cuban spirit or the exiles lacked enough resources is still up for debate. 1,100 of the invaders were captured by the Cubans, and Castro exchanged them for food and medicine afterwards. Castro’s rule was further consolidated and deemed more legitimate than ever.
One crisis followed another, and the next would bring the whole world onto the brink of a nuclear war just a year later. As the Cold War progressed, both blocs had obtained nuclear weapons. The US had missiles stationed in Turkey, in close proximity to Soviet lands, thus had a strategic advantage and first strike capacity. As the Soviets faced a significant missile gap, they decided to approach Castro, claiming the placement of missiles would deter any aggressive tendencies from other countries and strengthen the socialist bloc. Castro agreed, and soon the missiles were stationed on the island. When the US learned of this, it imposed a naval blockade against Cuba, although it is worthwhile to note that during the diplomatic process, Cuba was mostly excluded from discussions and disregarded as an actor in this crisis. The US and USSR would eventually reach an agreement, with both withdrawing missiles from their respective places, and in Castro’s words, Cuba was unaware of what the deal thoroughly included. During a meeting with Khrushchev, he overheard about the USSR withdrawing missiles from Turkey as well:
“When I heard that phrase, it was the last thing that Nikita wanted me to hear, since he knew my way of thinking, and that we were completely against being used as an exchange token. This was contradictory to the theory that the missiles were sent for the defense of Cuba. Withdrawing missiles from Turkey had nothing to do with the defense of Cuba.”
Left disappointed under the shadow of superpowers, Cuba continued to strive towards socialist goals. In the economy, sugar cane was still highly important in international trade, but new goods such as cotton were introduced. Between 1964 and 1970, Cuba’s transformation reached new heights. All industry, commerce, finance and up to 70% of agricultural land were owned by the state itself, although nationalisation didn’t solve economic problems altogether, while the US kept Cuba under control with an embargo. Socialism was fully embraced, after the hardship of the revolution years, Cuba finally achieved sovereignty and cultural identity, although the amount of censorship the state pushed for is still debatable. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, although bilateral relations were significantly strained, the USSR remained an ally to this socialist island country until its collapse in 1991. Cuba had to handle American neoliberalism alone as the socialist bloc collapsed.
Overnight, Cuba lost almost all of its foreign trade and its most precious ally. They hadn’t developed their own sovereign economy yet. However, Cuba didn’t become a capitalist country just to be sympathetic to international trade: the culturally developed revolution and its ideology continued to be embraced by the masses. The period after 1991 was declared by the state as a “Special Period in a Time of Peace”. New forms of private property were introduced on the island, food was rationed, and there were frequent blackouts, much like the current situation on the island. Meanwhile, the US imposed further sanctions. During modern times, between 2015 and 2017, only President Obama took steps towards reconciliation with this socialist neighbour, although President Trump would and still is destroying the relations.
Currently, as tensions with the US once again rise, the island is reminded of its past more than ever. As Cuba has been identified as a national threat, it is unknown whether a war will be waged against the island, besides tactics such as stripping it of its resources. The nation’s hospitals are currently almost non-operational, food is scarce, and the streets are covered in trash, with no utility services available because of the blackouts. The US has offered aid, on the condition that it be distributed through the Catholic Church, entirely bypassing the Cuban state. Foreign Minister Rodríguez said the US is actively building, “day after day, a fraudulent case to justify the ruthless economic war against the Cuban people and eventual military aggression”, underlining that Cuba “has the right to legitimate self-defence against any external aggression”. President Díaz-Canel said a military intervention would cause a “bloodbath with incalculable consequences”. Cuba’s Civil Defence has provided the population with “a family guide on how to act during a hypothetical military aggression against Cuba”, and the pamphlet echoes the revolutionary spirit: “should the enemy attack, our Revolution will defend itself until victory is achieved and the aggressor is expelled”.
