As the US and its Western allies declared the first tranche of economic sanctions on Russian banks, sovereign debts and oligarchs close to Putin, the efficacy of sanctions have again come to the forefront of public discourse
Ukrainian service members walk with M141 Bunker Defeat Munition weapons supplied by the United States during drills at the International Peacekeeping Security Centre near Yavoriv in the Lviv region, Ukraine, February 4, 2022. Photo: Reuters
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Ukrainian service members walk with M141 Bunker Defeat Munition weapons supplied by the United States during drills at the International Peacekeeping Security Centre near Yavoriv in the Lviv region, Ukraine, February 4, 2022. Photo: Reuters
In 1960, following the deposition of the brutal Batista regime and the nationalisation of US-owned oil refineries in Cuba, the United States placed an embargo on all exports to Cuba except for food and medicine.
In 1962, the embargo would be extended to include almost all exports. The purpose of these sanctions was to cripple the Cuban economy, manufacture a mass upheaval, engineer a coup and potentially coerce the Castro regime into submission.
Unfortunately for the US, sanctions and embargoes are…
