Fidel Castro and Cuban revolutionaries overthrow the dictatorship of President Fulgencio Batista
The old government is replaced with a revolutionary socialist state
1959 January 7
US recognizes Castro government
1960 February
Cuba signs trade agreement with the Soviet Union
1960 October 19
US places embargo on exports to Cuba, with exceptions for food and medicine
1961 January
US cuts diplomatic relations with and restricts travel to Cuba
1961 April
US launches unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion
1962 February 7
US extends embargo, banning most imports from Cuba
1962 August 1
Congress passes the Foreign Assistance Act
Act authorizes trade embargo and bars foreign aid to any country which assists the government of Cuba
1962 October 14
Cuban missile crisis begins
1963 July
US freezes all Cuban assets in the United States under the Trading with the Enemy Act
1964 May 14
US tightens regulations on food and medicine exports
1977
Carter administration loosens some embargo restrictions
President Jimmy Carter eases travel restrictions and opens diplomatic interests sections in Havana and Washington, DC Congress also repeals the provision of the Foreign Assistance Act banning aid to countries which permit maritime trade with Cuba
1980 April 20
Mariel boatlift
The Castro regime allows Cubans to emigrate, sparking a mass exodus of Cubans to the US – 125,000 people in all
1981–1982
Reagan administration tightens economic embargo on Cuba and re-institutes travel ban
1992 April
President George Bush Sr tightens trade restrictions
Bush administration restricts access to US ports for any ships that also serve Cuba
1992 October 5
The Cuban Democracy Act becomes law
The act tightens shipping and trade standards and puts stricter limit on remittances, while easing telecommunications rules
1992 November 28
UN General Assembly holds vote for the first time to urge end to US economic sanctions against Cuba
The vote passes by 59 to three, with 79 abstentions. Romania and Israel join the US in opposition. Similar votes have been held more than two dozens times to date
1993 July
President Bill Clinton approves increase in telecommunications services between US and Cuba
1994 August
US denies entry of Cuban refugees
Rising number of refugees causes Clinton administration to reverse long-standing, favorable US policy toward Cubans and begin treating those leaving the island for the US as illegal aliens. They are sent to camps at Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba
1994 August
Clinton administration tightens embargo
Further restrictions placed on travel to Cuba and dollar remittances from Cuban-Americans to family members in Cuba are banned
1994 September 9
US and Cuba sign immigration deal
The US increases number of immigrant visas offered to Cubans from 11,000 to at least 20,000 per year and Cuba agrees “to prevent unsafe departures using mainly persuasive methods”
1995 October 6
President Clinton eases travel restrictions to Cuba for educational and humanitarian purposes
1996 February 24
US civilian planes shot down near Cuba; President Clinton suspends charter travel from the US
1996 March 12
Helms-Burton Act passes
The act tightened the US embargo on Cuba and attempted to weaken Cuban ties with foreign companies
1998 March 20
Clinton administration eases select restrictions
Following visit of the Pope to Cuba, the Clinton administration eases humanitarian aid (food and medicine) and remittance restrictions
1998 September 12
Cuban Five arrested
Five Cuban counterintelligence officers who were sent by Castro to infiltrate Cuban-American exile groups are arrested for spying
2000 June 28
Five-year-old Elián González is returned to Cuba
After being picked up off the Florida coast, Elian Gonzalez, whose mother drowned on the voyage over, is returned to his father in Cuba despite legal appeals from relatives in Miami
2006 December 15
US lawmakers travel to Cuba to discuss policy changes
The largest US congressional delegation to visit Cuba since the revolution meets with Cuban government officials, opening the possibility for improved relations
2008 February
Fidel Castro resigns as Cuba’s president and hands over power to his brother Raúl Castro
2009 April 13
President Barack Obama eases restrictions
Cuban-Americans are allowed to visit family in Cuba and to send unlimited funds
2009 December 3
Alan Gross is arrested
Gross, who was detained for distributing internet communications within Cuba, is sentenced to fifteen years in prison
2011 October 7
René González freed
Convicted counterintelligence agent René González, one of the Cuban Five, who were arrested for spying on the US government, is released from US prison
2012 October 16
Raúl Castro announces that Cuba will lift exit visa restrictions for its citizens
2013 Spring
Obama authorizes officials to begin talks with Cuba
The first meetings are held in Canada in June
2013 December 10
Obama, Raúl Castro shake hands
The handshake, which happened at Nelson Mandela's funeral, signals a warming of ties between the US and Cuba
2014 April 4
AP reveals that the US created a ‘Cuban Twitter’ to undermine Cuba’s government
2014 Fall
US, Cuban negotiating teams meet at Vatican after receiving a letter from the Pope encouraging prisoner exchange
2014 December 16
Obama speaks by phone with Cuban President Raúl Castro
On the hour-long call, a historic moment, the two men solidified plans to normalize diplomatic relations
2014 December 17
US and Cuba announce plans to restore full diplomatic relations
President Obama details historic deal, which one administration official called the "most significant change in our Cuba policy in more than 50 years". As part of the deal, Cuba releases Alan Gross