1959: Cuba Wants Their Land Back
On January 1, 1959, after the Cuban revolution, Cuban territory is declared off-limits to all U.S. servicemen and civilians. After the Fidel Castro overthrow of the Batista Government he demands that Washington end its occupation in the Guantánamo province. The U.S. Defense Department responds by stating: “There is no way in which Cuba can unilaterally abrogate the agreement legally,” and that the U.S. has no intention of joining in a mutual decision to do so.
Castro openly declares his adherence to Marxism on July 19, 1959. Soon after that he institutes land reform as part of his program to redistribute wealth. This results in an estimated US$1.8 billion worth of property that had been owned by American companies being given to poor Cubans. (Today that property is valued at close to US$6 billion.) Castro also nationalizes several industries, which further affects American companies because much of Cuba's economy has been dominated by US industry.
