LYCOS RETRIEVER 
U.S.- Cuba Relations: United States
built 180 days ago
In the 1980s the focus of friction in U.S.-Cuban relations shifted to include immigration, as well as Cuba's international engagements, when a migration crisis unfolded. In April 1980 an estimated ten thousand Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. Eventually, the Cuban government allowed 125,000 Cubans to illegally depart for the United States from the port of Mariel, an incident known as the "Mariel boatlift." A number of criminals and mentally ill persons were involuntarily included. Quiet efforts to explore the prospects for improving relations were initiated in 1981-82 under the Reagan administration, but ceased as Cuba continued to intervene in Latin America. In 1983, the United States and regional allies forced the withdrawal of the Cuban presence in Grenada.
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In the midst of cocktails, finger foods and several dozen members of New York's high society, the first bilateral talks on the potential for a U.S.-Cuba accommodation took place. Standing in a corner of Howard's spacious living room, Attwood and Lechuga conferred on the interest of their respective leaders in what Attwood called "an exchange of views." Castro, Lechuga told Attwood, "had hoped to contact or get in touch with President Kennedy in '61 and then came the Bay of Pigs and that was that." Lechuga "hinted that Castro was indeed in a mood to talk," Attwood reported in a secret account of his meetings, and "thought there was a good chance that I might be invited to Cuba if I wished to resume our 1959 talks." As Lechuga remembers the conversation, it was Attwood who suggested going to Havana, stating that he was about "to request authorization from the President to go to Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro and ask about the feasibility of a rapprochement between Havana and Washington." Both made it clear to the other that they did not yet have instructions from their governments on how--or whether--to proceed with this plan.
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With essays covering U.S. foreign policy, U.S.-Cuba relations, international relations, and international economics, this collection highlights the striking tension between America's Cuba policy and the rest of the international community. Contributors argue that Washington's approach is anachronistic, irrational, and ultimately ineffective, and their discussion provides a comprehensive framework for judging not only the United States’ Cuba policy but ... its foreign policy in general. Their analysis makes an important contribution to the debate about multilateralism versus unilateralism in U.S. foreign policy.
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Fidel's resignation in February 2008 could spur a change in U.S.-Cuba relations, but experts don't expect any movement until a new U.S. president takes office in 2009. As this CFR.org Issue Tracker indicates, the presidential candidates are divided on what tack the United States should adopt toward Cuba.
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Years later, William Attwood returned one more time to his role as an intermediary in U.S.-Cuba relations. After Jimmy Carter's election in 1976, Castro invited Attwood and his family to visit Cuba. Before leaving, Attwood informed Secretary of State-designate Cyrus Vance and National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brezinski of his trip, and wrote a comprehensive confidential report for Vance when he got back. His three-hour conversation with Castro covered a variety of issues, from Africa to Vietnam to U.S.-Cuba relations. Castro "recalled my exploratory talks with Lechuga at the U.N. that fall," Attwood reported.
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U.S.-Cuban relations deteriorated rapidly in the 1960s. In 1961 alone, diplomatic ties with Cuba were severed; the failed “Bay of Pigs” invasion occurred; Castro declared Cuba to be a Marxist-Leninist state; and the United States initiated Operation Mongoose, a plan of covert actions targeting Cuban leaders and infrastructure. October 1962 saw the Cuban missile crisis that stemmed from the Cuban government’s allowing Soviet nuclear missiles on the island.
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