What potential problems or opportunities for both nations (United States and Cuba) could result from ending nearly 50 years of spearation? Use RAC.

The Cuban Revolution, led by lawyer Fidel Castro and Argentine doctor Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1959, implemented a new regime on the Caribbean island. The nationalization of private companies and land reform went against US interests, business owners and large tracts of land in Cuba. This gap in bilateral relations has led the United States to enact a trade embargo against Cuba. In 1961, the two countries broke off relations.

It was the height of the Cold War, a period in which the world was divided into two spheres of influence: the capitalist world was led by the USA, while the communists were under the command of the Soviet Union (USSR). With relations broken with the Americans and suffering strong political and economic pressure, the Cuban government moved towards a definitive alignment with the USSR, adopting its one-party dictatorial regime and collectivizing large companies and farms.

The end of the USSR, in 1991, aggravates the economic situation in Cuba, which received support from Soviet and other communist countries in Eastern Europe, with advantages in selling sugar above the market price and buying oil. The difficulties imposed by the US embargo cause unemployment, rationing of food and basic items. In 2006, as his health deteriorated, Fidel Castro gave power to his brother, Raul.

Cuba begins to adopt gradual changes in its closed regime, especially from 2011, with the worsening of the world economic crisis, which was reflected in a drop in exports and tourism. In general, the country has been promoting a series of reforms that open the island to market mechanisms and private capital. It released more than 200 activities for the private sector, authorized to hire workers, and recently authorized the legalization of small and medium-sized private companies.

Cuba's future depends on advancing relations with the United States. The diplomatic resumption between the two countries, announced in 2014, surprised the world and put an end to more than five decades of hostilities.

Since then, several gestures of reconciliation have followed. Bilateral measures have been taken to progressively end restrictions on travel and remittances, in addition to signing an agreement to re-establish direct commercial flights between the two countries.

The normalization of relations was made official on June 20, 2015, with the reopening of the US embassies in Havana and Cuba in Washington. To crown this new phase between the two countries, then US President Barack Obama was received in Cuba for a meeting with Raul Castro in March 2016.