The CIA, during the Eisenhower administration, supported the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro since the president of Cuba at the time (appointed by the U.S.) could no longer be easily controlled and constantly demanded more and more money. As Castro's revolution succeeded and Castro ordered a number of businesses such as casinos, brothels, etc. (illegal in U.S. soil) to close plus the expulsion of renown U.S. Mafia leaders from Cuban territory, he drew the hatred of powerful people in the U.S. and their associates who began lobbying for the overthrowing of Castro's government.
As president Kennedy took office, he inherited a black operation from the Eisenhower administration: the invasion of Cuba by a group of anti-Castro Cubans that wold then be supported by U.S. military forces. Kennedy opposed the whole plan, but after heavy pressure from the CIA he authorized the invasion, on the condition no U.S. personnel became directly involved. The resulting operation, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, ended up in a disaster for the invaders, and the fear of a U.S. military invasion made Castro turn to the Soviet Union for military and economic support.
As diplomatic relationships between Cuba and the U.S. thoroughly broke up, anti-Castro lobbyists in the U.S. managed to have the U.S. government and all its allies and economic partners to order an embargo on Cuba intended to force Cubans to get rid of Castro as a a result of an acute shortage of medicines and other vital supplies. Even though socialism in the Soviet Union collapsed and Cuba lost its main supporter, the country held its own. In recent times, the attitude of the U.S. has softened by allowing U.S. travelers to visit Cuba and resuming diplomatic relationships between the two nations.
