Historically Speaking

It was this day in 1962 that President John F. Kennedy signed an order that began a naval blockade of Cuba, popularly considered the start of the "Bay of Pigs" fiasco.

American politics were already quite dirty even then.

Our continuing embargo on Cuba is criminal and it should have ended before it started.

Trust me, I am no fan of Castro. However, the only thing that has kept Castro alive and in power after the USSR fell apart - and possibly even before that - was our intervention.

But the original people Castro threw out were largely extremely rich and well connected, who also did not treat their people very well. They simply transplanted mainly to Florida, where they have controlled parts of American government ever since.

American mafia organizations were also proud stockholders in pre-Castro Cuba. They've also had interesting relationships with our own government.