JFK ANNOUNCES TRADE EMBARGO ON CUBA
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 3, 1962, President John F. Kennedy
issued a proclamation announcing a trade embargo between the United States and Cuba.
The President, acting under section 620(a) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act*, stated that the embargo was imposed as a result of decisions made by the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Inter-American System.
The embargo would result in a loss of income in Cuba which would "reduce the capacity of the Castro regime...to engage in acts of aggression, subversion, or other activities endangering the security of the United States" and other nations of the Western Hemisphere.
*Foreign Assistance Act passed Congress on Sept 4 & was signed by JFK on Nov 3, 1961. FAA reorganized the structure of existing U.S. foreign assistance programs & created the US Agency for International Development. The act provided that no assistance be provided to governments in violation of human rights and/or any communist country.
"White House Statement Concerning the Embargo on Trade With Cuba, February 3, 1962," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, January 1 to December 31, 1962, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1963.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 3, 1962, President John F. Kennedy
issued a proclamation announcing a trade embargo between the United States and Cuba.
The President, acting under section 620(a) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act*, stated that the embargo was imposed as a result of decisions made by the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Inter-American System.
The embargo would result in a loss of income in Cuba which would "reduce the capacity of the Castro regime...to engage in acts of aggression, subversion, or other activities endangering the security of the United States" and other nations of the Western Hemisphere.
*Foreign Assistance Act passed Congress on Sept 4 & was signed by JFK on Nov 3, 1961. FAA reorganized the structure of existing U.S. foreign assistance programs & created the US Agency for International Development. The act provided that no assistance be provided to governments in violation of human rights and/or any communist country.
SOURCE
"White House Statement Concerning the Embargo on Trade With Cuba, February 3, 1962," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, January 1 to December 31, 1962, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1963.
Map of Cuba
CIA (1994)
