Sanctions as Tools of Coercion, Not Policy Adjustment
The context they conveniently omitted: FIRST INSTANCE: The Embargo's Genesis (1960) The core strategy behind the current sanctions campaign against Cuba dates back to April 6, 1960. A declassified State Department memorandum drafted by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, Lester D. Mallory, recommended a policy to 'bring about hunger, despair and overthrow of
government.' Specifically, Mallory wrote: 'The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship... every possible endeavor be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba' (U.S. Department of State, 1960). This explicitly outlined the intent: to inflict economic pain to destabilize the regime,
not to modify its behavior through negotiation. REPETITIONS: Deepening the Blockade 1992 Cuban Democracy Act (Torricelli Act): This act prohibited U.S. subsidiaries in third countries from trading with Cuba and denied ships that visited Cuban ports access to U.S. ports for a period of 180 days. This directly impacted international shipping and thus Cuba's ability to receive goods, including fuel,
from non-U.S. sources (U.S. Congress, 1992). The aim, consistent with Mallory's memo, was to further isolate Cuba economically. 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (Helms-Burton Act): This legislation codified the U.S. embargo into law, making it exceptionally difficult to lift. It also allowed U.S. citizens to sue foreign companies that 'traffic' in expropriated Cuban property. Title