Since the 1960s, Washington has clamped a strict trade embargo
on Cuba in the expectation that economic distress would oust
Castro or at least moderate his behavior. Since 1996 the U.S.
embargo has been embodied in law (heretofore it was an executive
order). Here’s what Uncle Sam says the embargo, enacted on
February 3, 1962, by President Kennedy, is about: The
fundamental goal of U.S. policy toward Cuba is to promote a
peaceful transition to a stable, democratic form of government
and respect for human rights. Our policy has two fundamental
components: maintaining pressure on the Cuban Government for
change through the embargo and the Libertad Act while providing
humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people, and working to aid
the development of civil society in the country. Critics call it
a violation of international law that injures and threatens the
welfare of Cuban people. The United Nations General Assembly
routinely votes to condemn it (the 2009 vote was 187-3, with
only Palau and Israel—which trades w