| Keyword |
Description |
| Sovereignty |
A country’s full power to make its own decisions without outside control |
| Embargo |
An official government ban on trade or certain economic relations with another country |
| Neocolonialism |
A modern way powerful countries control weaker ones through debt, trade, or political pressure instead of direct rule |
Cuba and Mexico have a long, complex relationship that goes back to Spanish colonial times and continues to evolve today. Both countries share a history of foreign control, U.S. pressure and internal political struggles, which has shaped the way they deal with each other and with Washington. In the 19th century, Mexico worried that Cuba, still under Spain, could be used to attack its newly won independence, while Spain’s troops on the island threatened Mexico’s control of the Gulf. Later, even after Cuba formally became a republic, its sovereignty stayed limited by the United States through the Platt Amendment until 1934, showing how hard it was for either country to escape outside influence.
During the early 20th century, ties between the two countries grew through political activism and cultural exchange. Cuban intellectuals and rebels looked to Mexico as a place of exile and inspiration, especially during the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado, and many organized from Mexican soil. The assassination of the Cuban Marxist Julio Antonio Mella in Mexico City in 1929 highlighted both the danger of rebellion and the close, sometimes tense, cooperation between the two governments. In the late 1930s, public shows of friendship, like the Mexican Brigada Mexicana visiting Cuba and Cuban military missions visiting Mexico, helped both governments strengthen their nationalist image at home.
In the 1950s, Mexico became a crucial base for the Cuban Revolution. After an early defeat in Cuba, Fidel and Raúl Castro, along with Che Guevara and other exiles, found in Mexico a relatively permissive environment where they could train, gather weapons and plan the “26th of July Movement” that would overthrow Batista in 1959. During the Cold War, Mexico kept formal relations with Cuba when many other Latin American countries cut ties, defending Cuba’s right to choose its political system while quietly coordinating with the United States. This mix of public independence and private cooperation allowed Mexico to maintain contact with Havana and still reassure Washington that it would not help spread communism.
After the Cold War, things changed. Mexico’s economic crises, its turn toward free markets, NAFTA and a stronger focus on human rights pushed it closer to the United States and created new tensions with Cuba, especially during President Vicente Fox’s administration in the early 2000s. Relations began to improve again in the 2010s, with visits, new agreements on trade and tourism, and Mexican humanitarian aid to Cuba despite U.S. embargoes. Today, Mexico has become Cuba’s main oil supplier, replacing Venezuela, and both countries are trying to work together while facing renewed U.S. pressure and a shifting regional order shaped by “America First” politics and new forms of economic and political neocolonialism.
Bridging words
These words sound similar in English and Spanish: Why not practice them now?
| English |
Spanish |
| Relationship |
Relación |
| Embargo |
Embargo |
| Economic crises |
Crisis económicas |
Time to discuss
- Should Mexico keep close relations with Cuba even if the United States dislikes it?
- Is it possible for small countries to be truly independent when powerful neighbors are watching?
- Did Mexico act more like a friend or like a cautious observer during the Cuban Revolution?
Let's write
Answer the following questions in one paragraph:
- How has U.S. influence affected the relationship between Cuba and Mexico from the 19th century to today?
- In your opinion, what does the Cuba–Mexico story tell us about the challenges Latin American countries face when defending their sovereignty?
