Dear Hector,

January 3, 1969
So as you already know, I left Cuba about ten years ago, after
the Castro regime forcefully took power in Cuba. I wanted to inform
you that I arrived safely in Florida and have since settled in quite well.
It is strange not having you here with me since we are cousins, but I
know how strong your loyalty is to Cuba, and that you would never
want to leave. I would love to hear how Cuba changes due to the
embargo.
In 1961, the Kennedy administration had a failed attempt at
trying to overthrow the Castro regime, called the Bay of Pigs. This
revolt was led by Cuban exiles living in the U.S. Kennedy and these
Cuban exiles hoped that once the revolution began in Cuba, that the
Cuban citizens would join in and help with the revolt. As you might
already know, this did not work. This helped fuel even more antiAmerican sentiment in Cuba and caused even more distrust between
our two nations.
In 1962, as you may be aware, President Kennedy placed an
embargo on Cuba. This was after the Castro regime forcibly took
power over Cuba, and to make matters worse, the new Cuban
government aligned itself with the Soviet Union, furthering tensions
with the U.S.

Sorry for taking so long to write this letter, I did not want to
cause any difficulty resulting from you getting a letter from someone in
the U.S.
Love,
Ernesto

Dear Ernesto,
May 15, 1970
I am so happy to hear that you got to Florida safely! I am really
worried that Cuba will not recover from the economic fall, due to the
embargo. Sugar, which is our leading export, dipped to dangerously
low prices after the U.S. placed the embargo, and stopped all trade
with us. Since then we have had little economic upturn.
I know that you left because you were afraid of the revolution, but I
have come to really understand and agree with Fidel Castro taking
control over Cuba. I believe that he will really take control and raise
Cuba up to its full potential. We will soon be one of the greatest
countries with his help.
Did you hear about the Cuban Missile Crisis? The U.S. Navy
barricaded Cuba since they heard how the Soviet Union built a missile
base on Cuba, in 1962. This caused even more tensions until they
finally reached an agreement that the U.S. would never attack Cuba,

and Cuba agreed to destroy the base. This was a very frightening
time, being in Cuba, as I am sure it was frightening for you as well.
I wish you all the best in Florida and look forward to your next letter.
Love, Hector

Dear Hector,
February 14, 1985
Sorry for taking so long to write you back, I was waiting until I
could send money to you. The president of the U.S., Jimmy Carter, has
passed a bill allowing money to be sent to those in Cuba. I am happy
to hear that you are content living in Cuba still. I am worried about you
living in Cuba, where the Castro regime is so repressive, so please be
safe. Hearing more about the embargo and the Castro regime, I have
come to agree with the embargo. Hopefully with the U.S. limiting
resources it will put the Castro regime in a situation where they have to
improve their humanitarian crisis in order to regain aid from the U.S.
As you might not know, Cuba posted military troops in Africa and
in quite a few other countries. As a result of the Cuban military being

stationed in Angola, the U.S. has sent troops to Angola in order to help
the Angolan rebels.
In the beginning of the 1980s, the Cuban government released
prisoners and some mentally ill and released them onto a boat and
shipped them to the United States, called the Mariel Boatlift. This
further increased tensions between our two nations. Finally, about four
years later, Castro agreed to take back all the Cubans who had fled
from Cuba in 1980. Castro released all those people, via boat, to the
United States right when President Carter was trying to loosen
restrictions on the embargo. It is frustrating that the Cuban
government reacts to those potential negotiations by doing this.
Please write back as soon as you can, I am anxious to see how you are
doing.
Love, Ernesto
Dear Ernesto,
November 30, 1989
Thank you so much for sending over money. After the 1970
sugar plantation failure, many of the Cuban citizens, including myself,
are still facing economic hardships. Many do not believe in the
revolution anymore and not fond of Fidel Castro anymore. I am deeply
worried, but I am still loyal to Cuba and not planning on fleeing
anytime soon. It is hard living in Cuba when most of my family and
friends have left Cuba, but I still never could imagine leaving my

country. I have also noticed that a lot of people have gone to jail
recently for being political dissenters, some have even gone missing.
So I need to be more careful as to what I write.
I cant believe that Cuba is essentially aiming to not end the
embargo. If the embargo were to end, Cubas financial problems would
dramatically decrease.
Until next time,
Hector

Dear Hector,
July 22, 1995
Since there are so many Cubans illegally entering the U.S. per
year, the U.S. government and the Cuban government agreed to let
twenty thousand Cubans into the U.S. per year. This is to help limit the
influx of refugees per year. This is very important to have reached
some sort of deal between our two countries, since it does not happen

too much. I would love to see you, but I know that your home is in
Cuba. I hope that the economic conditions have improved some over
the years.
I know that you do not agree with the embargo, but I still do. The
embargo will cause the Cuban government to change their
authoritarian ways and hopefully try to improve the living conditions
for their citizens.
Again I enclosed money
Much Love,
Ernesto

Dear Ernesto,
March 2, 1999
I wish that I could see you as well, but as you said, my home is in
Cuba and I have no interest in leaving right now.

So as you might know, the embargo has, again, reached a

standstill. In 1996, two Cuban-American planes were shot down over
Havana by the Cuban government. The Cuban government has not
really published any information about what happened, which is
frustrating because, as a citizen, I am allowed to know what is going on
in my own country. I know that the Cuban government withholds a lot
of information from the citizens, which I why I am thankful we have this
correspondence, considering you keep me updated of what is going on.
Until next time
Love,
Hector

Dear Hector,
November 12, 1995
So I have some good news for you, I am allowed to send even
more money to you to help you and your family! I know that you are

having some financial difficulties; so being able to do this really gives

me some peace and mind.
Cuba has recently just asked for help from the U.S. After
Hurricane Michelle, it left Cuba in dire need for food. Since the U.S.
does send food to Cuba, hopefully this will help reestablish some sort
of relationship amongst the two nations.
Now that my kids are older and able to understand more about
the embargo, they have actually sided against the embargo. There has
been a change amongst Cuban-Americans born in the U.S. and those,
like me, who fled from Cuba. I agree with the embargo only being
completely lifted once the Castro regime ends being a repressive
regime. My children, however, and other Cuban-Americans born in the
U.S. disagree, wanting an end to the embargo saying it has not helped
either country, nor has it accomplished anything.
Love,
Ernesto

Dear Ernesto,
October 13, 2008

I personally agree with your children and the new generation of

Cuban-Americans. I would love to see our two countries begin to end
all of their disputes and form a positive relationship.
As you might have heard, Fidel Castro recently has had some
medical issues. Raul Castro, Fidels brother, is the new president of
Cuba. I am hoping that he is more for having an American relationship
than his brother was.
Alan Gross, an American, has just been imprisoned here in Cuba,
which I am sure is causing a huge uproar in the U.S. The Cuban
government alleged that he was spying on Cuba for the U.S, but I do
not know exactly what is true.
Until next time
Love and miss you,
Hector

Dear Hector,

January 3, 2015
So I have great news! Last month President Obama has taken
steps to loosen the embargo! To completely lift the embargo congress
would have to actually vote to get rid of the embargo. I am now
allowed to visit you, so I will be making arrangement for my family and
myself to visit very soon. We are also allowed to bring back Cuban
items, such as your infamous Cuban cigars. This is such a monumental
step and will bring our two countries that much closer in completely
lifting this embargo. Even though I agree with the embargo, I am
excited just so that I can see you and visit my old country again.
U.S. businesses are very excited about this agreement since this
means they will be opening businesses up in Cuba, which will in return,
cause economic upturn for both Cuba and America.
In return for this agreement between U.S and Cuba, Cuba plans
on releasing over fifty-three American prisoners, including Alan Gross.
See you soon!
Ernesto

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Dear Ernesto,
April 20, 2015
I have heard that our two countries reached an agreement and
loosened the embargos restrictions. I am excited to not only see you
and your family, but to see how this will impact Cuba. The economy
will improve drastically since U.S businesses will come do some of their
business here, creating jobs and stimulating the economy. I heard that
three of the Cuban Five, who were imprisoned in 2001 creating a
massive uproar in Cuba, will be released as well.
Americans being able to spend money in Cuba will cause such a
boom in business that I am sure in a couple of years Cuba will be in
such a better economic state.
I am so excited to see you and your family very soon!
Much Love,
Hector

Defense Paper:
I decided to have my genre be a series of letters between a
Cuban and a Cuban-American, who fled Cuba after Fidel Castro Seized
power in Cuba. The relationship between the U.S. and Cuba sparks a
lot of attention and many differing opinions. Cuban-Americans who
actually fled from Cuba generally agree with the embargo, whereas
their kids and the younger generations do not agree with the embargo.

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Due to this, I wanted to do letters so that my audience could get many

different opinions and why they have those opinions.
I also wanted to give a lot of information within my letters so that
the audience could form their own logical opinions and have reasons to
back up their opinions. Having a series of letters also gets rid of bias
and makes them more interesting to read.

Works Cited
Letter One:
"The Bay of Pigs." The Bay of Pigs. Jfklibrary, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Renwich, Danielle. "US-Cuba Relations." Council on Foreign Relations. Ed. Brianna
Lee. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.
Letter Two:
Dore, The 1960S Was A Tumultuous Decade In Cuba. For Islanders, The Decade Began
In 1959 With The, and Overthrow Of The Dictator Ful. CubansMemories of
the 1960s (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 3 Apr. 2015.
"Economic Embargo Timeline." Economic Embargo Against Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. 03
Apr. 2015.
Renwick, Danielle. "US-Cuba Relations." Council on Foreign Relations. Ed. Brianna
Lee. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
"US-Cuba Relations." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d.
Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Letter Three:

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"Castro Announces Mariel Boatlift." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
05 Apr. 2015.
"Economic Embargo Timeline." Economic Embargo Against Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Apr. 2015.
Renwick, Danielle. "US-Cuba Relations." Council on Foreign Relations. Ed. Brianna
Lee. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
"Timeline: US-Cuba Relations." BBC News. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Letter Four:
"Economic Embargo Timeline." Economic Embargo Against Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
Apr. 2015.
Letter Five:
"Timeline: US-Cuba Relations." BBC News. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Letter Six:
CNN. Cable News Network, 24 Feb. 1996. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Letter Seven:
"Economic Embargo Timeline." Economic Embargo Against Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. 03
Apr. 2015.
"Timeline: US-Cuba Relations." BBC News. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Letter Eight:
"Economic Embargo Timeline." Economic Embargo Against Cuba. N.p., n.d. Web. 03
Apr. 2015.
Mitchell, Andrea, and Erin McClam. "Cuba Frees American Alan Gross, Held for Five
Years." NBC News. NBC, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2015.

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Letter Nine:
Myre, Greg. "The U.S. And Cuba: A Brief History Of A Complicated Relationship."
NPR. NPR, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2015.
"US Loosens Embargo on Cuba." Fox News. FOX News Network, 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 05
Apr. 2015.
Letter Ten:
Myre, Greg. "The U.S. And Cuba: A Brief History Of A Complicated Relationship."
NPR. NPR, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2015.
Tymins, Austin. "From the Archives: Reexamining the Cuban Embargo - Harvard
Political Review." Harvard Political Review From the Archives Reexamining
the Cuban Embargo Comments. N.p., 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
"US Loosens Embargo on Cuba." Fox News. FOX News Network, 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 05
Apr. 2015.

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