On February 7, 1962, the United States officially imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba, marking a decisive break in relations between the two countries.
By that point, tensions had been escalating for several years. After Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, Cuba began nationalizing industries and properties — many of them owned by U.S. companies — without providing compensation Washington considered adequate. At the same time, Castro’s government moved closer to the Soviet Union, openly embracing socialism during the height of the Cold War.
In response, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 3447, which went into effect on February 7, 1962. The order banned nearly all trade between the U.S. and Cuba, cutting off imports and exports except for limited humanitarian items. This action expanded earlier, more limited restrictions (such as cuts to sugar imports) into a comprehensive economic blockade.
The embargo was intended to economically isolate Cuba, pressure Castro’s government to change course, and prevent the spread of communism in the Western Hemisphere. Instead, it hardened Cuba’s alignment with the Soviet Union and became a defining feature of U.S.–Cuba relations for decades. The embargo remained in place through major Cold War flashpoints — including the Cuban Missile Crisis later in 1962 — and, despite modifications over the years, it largely persists today.
In short: February 7, 1962, is the day the Cuba embargo formally began, transforming a deteriorating relationship into a long-term geopolitical standoff that still shapes policy and debate more than half a century later.
