Argentine-Cuban relations

Both states were part of the Spanish Empire . In 1816, Argentina gained independence, and in 1902 Cuba became an independent country after the end of the Spanish-American War . On May 12, 1909, Argentina and Cuba formally established diplomatic relations ^[1] , which were not widespread due to geographical distance. In January 1959, the Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro entered Havana and took control of the country. After the Cuban Revolution, Argentina established relations with the new government, and in May 1959 Fidel Castro visited Buenos Aires , where he met with Argentinean President Arturo Frondisi ^[2] . In August 1961, a Cuban revolutionary of Argentinean origin, Ernesto Che Guevara, secretly visited Argentina for several hours and met with President Arturo Frondisi and aunts before leaving the country ^[3] .

In December 1961, Cuba announced that it was becoming a Marxist and socialist country, and also established relations with the Soviet Union . On January 21, 1962, Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States (OAS), and in September 1962, the United States of America imposed a full economic embargo on this country ^[4] . In the same year, at the insistence of the United States, Argentina and all Latin American countries (with the exception of Mexico ) broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in order to isolate the government of Fidel Castro. On May 28, 1973, under President Hector Campor, Argentina became the third Latin American country (after Chile and Peru ) to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado after his resignation continued to work as ambassador to Argentina ^[5] . Relations between the two countries improved significantly after Juan Peron came to power in Argentina: Argentina granted Cuba a loan of $ 200 million a year for six years ^[6] . During the military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983), Cuba maintained relations with this country. So, when the Falkland War between Argentina and Great Britain began in April-June 1982, Cuba supported Argentina’s right to the Falkland Islands and sent weapons to Argentina from Libya through Brazil ^[7] .

In October 1986, President of Argentina Raul Alfonsin made an official visit to Cuba, becoming the first president of the country to carry out this ^[8] . In 1995, Cuban leader Fidel Castro visited Argentina to attend the Fifth Ibero-American Summit in San Carlos de Bariloche , where he met with Argentine President Carlos Menem. ^[2] Relations between countries deteriorated in 1997: during the 7th Ibero-American Summit on the Venezuelan island of Margarita , Argentine President Carlos Menem called for democracy in Cuba and an end to human rights violations on the island ^[9] . In November 1999, President Carlos Menem refused to attend the 9th Ibero-American Summit in Havana. Relations between Argentina and Cuba improved after Nestor Kirchner came to power. In 2003, Fidel Castro arrived in Argentina to participate in the inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner. In 2006, Fidel Castro visited Argentina for the last time, taking part in the Mercosur Summit in Cordoba . In July 2006, Raul Castro took over as the acting president of Cuba, and in 2008 became president. In 2009, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner visited Cuba, where she met with Fidel and Raul Castro. In 2013, she again visited Cuba on an official visit. ^[10]

In December 2015, Mauricio Macri became President of Argentina. In October 2016, Presidents Raul Castro and Mauricio Macri met in the Colombian city of Cartagena , where they attended the signing of a peace treaty between the Government of Colombia and the FARC rebels ^[11] . The presidents of Argentina and Cuba made a joint statement that they plan to reach an agreement to repay Cuba's debt of $ 11 billion from the initial debt of $ 1.3 billion that Cuba borrowed from Argentina in 1973 (the rest is unpaid interest) ^{[ 12]} . In 2013, 84,000 Argentine tourists visited Cuba, making Argentina the largest tourist supplier from Latin America and the fifth largest in the world ^[13] .

In 2015, the volume of trade between countries amounted to 386 million US dollars ^{[14] [15]} . Argentine exports to Cuba: food products. Cuba's Export to Argentina: Pharmaceutical Products and Medicines ^[16] .

• Argentina has an embassy in Havana ^[17] .
• Cuba has an embassy in Buenos Aires ^[18] .