History of US-Cuba relations

The Cuban revolution triumphed on January 1, 1959 after dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country and Fidel Castro and his allies took the power in the state. Photo: Fidel Castro and his soldiers

Photo: Demonstrators in Havana celebrating aboard a bus after Fulgencio Batista fell from power, 1959

The Cuban Revolution had great domestic and international consequences. It reshaped Cuba's relations with the United States. Photo: Fidel Castro making a speech in Colon, Cuba January 7, 1959

In a response US government took a number of measures against Cuba including an embargo on exports to that country except for food and medicine. Photo: Rebels in the car on Havana's street, 1959

Photo: Supporters of Fidel Castro in Grand Central Park in Havana, 1959

On April 16 Fidel Castro officially declared the socialist nature of Cuban Revolution. Photo: Cuban athletes carrying portraits of Karl Marx, Raul Castro, and Ernest "Che" Guevara, during May Day parade in Havana, May 1, 1961

On January 3, 1961 United States broke relations with Cuba and closed its embassy. Photo: Cuban nationals flocked to the American diplomatic mission's headquarters in hopes of obtaining a visa

In October 1962 USA set up a naval blockade against Cuba. Photo: President John F. Kennedy telling the American people about a naval blockade against Cuba, during a television and radio address

Cuban Missile Crisis, a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba occurred in 1962. Photo: Women protesting the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrate in front of the White House in Washington, USA October 23, 1962

Under the Reagan Administration in 1982 USA declared Cuba a country sponsoring terrorism and sanctions were strengthened again

In 1990s US President Bill Clinton called for an expansion of cash transfers from private Americans to needy Cubans and for increasing people-to-people exchanges, direct mail service and the sale of food and agricultural inputs to non-government entities. Clinton said the program was designed to help the Cuban people without strengthening the Cuban government. Photo: People buying stamps at a post office in Havana, Cuba Jan. 5, 1999

From 1992 the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the US commercial, economic and financial embargo against Cuba

Photo: A classic car is seen as Cuban students make their way down a street in San Juan de Dios in Old Havana, Cuba, 2006

In February 2008 Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president after nearly a half-century in power

After coming to power in 2009, US President Barack Obama stated his intention to begin a dialogue with Cuba. Photo: US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro, as it rains during a memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela in South Africa, December 10, 2013. The handshake set off speculation in the US and Cuba about whether it signaled a warming of ties between the two nations after decades of animosity

US and Cuba started normalizing relations and opened a new chapter in them as US president Barack Obama talked with president of Cuba Raul Castro in December 2014. The restoration of diplomatic ties between two countries was announced

The Cuban Embassy was opened in Washington on July 20, 2015. Photo: The Cuban flag is seen after being raised over the re-opened Cuban embassy in Washington

In August, 2015 US Secretary of State John Kerry Kerry visited Havana to raise the US flag over a restored US Embassy in the Cuban capital. Photo: A view of the staging area for the flag raising ceremony outside the newly opened US Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Aug. 14, 2015

US Presidend Barack Obama arrived at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport on March 20. He became the first US president to visit the island in nearly 90 years. Photo: US President Barack Obama with the first lady Michelle Obama during a walking tour of Old Havana, Cuba, March 20, 2016