For half a century, the people of Cuba have been suffering for the actions of an irresponsible regime. Cuba's punishment? A harsh embargo. The Cuban embargo was the US’s attempt to force the Communist regime out of cuba, and to make them adopt democratic policies.It was basically an elimination of trade between the two nations. Although the embargo was originally intended to topple Castro’s regime but all this useless plan has done is harm Cuba and her people.

One of the original intentions of the Cuban embargo is to force Cuba to reject their Communist regime and install a Democratic regime, and as a punishment for their involvement with Russia in nuclear weaponry. The only thing it has effectively punished is the people of Cuba, by limiting their access to potentially life saving medicines. (ProCon p2). without proper medicine, the people of Cuba aren’t able to be treated which can and will result in some deaths. Without the medicine, it could lead to human rights issues due to that fact that this is all due to the embargo. It also has only hurt US-Cuba relations. In a UN vote in 2013, 188 voted to eradicate the Embargo, while to only ones to vote for the embargo was the US and israel (ProCon p1). With this many countries passionate about lifting the embargo it must be a good idea. A lot of these countries will be affected by the lift of the embargo as well. Another reason to eliminate the embargo, is the fact that the US is one of the top food importers to Cuba. We obtained this status after Cuba was wrecked by a hurricane(Letter From Cuba p1). When Cuba gets back on its feet, we can use those goods for our own. One cannot disregard these downfalls of the embargo. If the US drops the embargo, it could help bring economic relief back home.

some, however, still could believe it's not a good idea to lift the ban on Cuba. Some people might still view Cuba as an old enemy that almost went to war with us. Those times are over and it’s time to tear down old hostilities rather than support them. Some might also believe that that the economic benefits are limited or very low.  Well 4,500 countries are invested in Cuba (yes of course p1). Also think, we should take any opportunity to help that we can get. Plus the benefits could become better and better as time goes on and relations improve. As far as human rights go, the embargo was intended to support the Cuban people from the Castro regime, but that doesn't mean anything if they all have no money and have limited crucial medicines (ProCon p2). Sure, you might have slightly affected living conditions but you created a problem even bigger than the solution.

There are big reasons, but there are also some extra perks that could make everybody happy. For example we’ll finally be able to end old hostilities with the Cuban people. Many people also believe that the plan was useless and should be taken down, obviously “the US government had two decades to prove that its embargo would work, but it failed”(yes, of course p1). So of course a plan that didn't even work in the first place would be outdated and should be taken out. Along with some other unforeseen benefits such as better relations with the Castro’s, increased impact on Cuban lives, and of course Cuban goods. Plus tourism between us and Cuba will increase.

In addition, the lift of the embargo will be very economically beneficial to both sides. One of the more important reasons is the economic benefits. Both countries will be able to restart their trade with each other, creating more income for both us and Cuba. This wont even just affect us and Cuba “approximately 4,500 companies in over 100 countries… have investments in Cuba”(yes, of course p1). The economics will help Cuba's economy. Although the money is good for Cuba it will also improve poor living conditions. They will finally be able to get imported goods and enough money to improve even for basic living expenses. The size of these trade profits we’re losing are eminence its “estimated $1.2 billion”(ProCon p3), is missed out on thanks to the embargo on Cuba for the US. The added benefits would be improved relations and better living for the Cubans.

You can already tell how beneficial lifting the embargo would be, but why is any of that important? Well our relations were formed at a time of war, Russia had its warheads aimed at us, and ours at them. It’s about time we move past the times of war and hate and try to reconnect with Cuba. It’s about time we stood with Cuba rather than against it. It’s about time, after a decade, that we fight to benefit both us and Cuba. It’s mostly up to our government. Luckily, for the past eighteen months, President Obama has been speaking with Raul castro, hopefully mending the relations between our two countries (NYtimes p1). Get involved, and make your voice heard on this issue that should be resolved.

Baker, Peter. "U.S. to Restore Full Relations With Cuba, Erasing a Last Trace of Cold War Hostility." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 May 2015.
"Cuba Embargo - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.
            
      3.  "Letter from Cuba: To Embargo or Not." World Affairs Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 20        May 2015.
      4. "Yes, of Course We Should Lift the Cuban Embargo." Cato Institute. N.p., 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 May 2015.