3. Cuba
The U.S. embargo on Cuba, initiated in 1960, is one of the longest-lasting sanction regimes. Enacted after Fidel Castro’s communist revolution, it bars U.S. trade, investment, and travel. While some restrictions eased under President Obama, subsequent administrations reversed many policies. Unlike the multilateral approaches to Iran and North Korea, the Cuban embargo has been unilateral but persistent, shaping decades of U.S.-Cuba relations and sparking debate over its humanitarian effects.
