Since the 1962 stand-off, when Cuba accepted Russian missiles targeted at US cities, Cuba has been considered a danger by the USA and has been subject to diplomatic isolation from countries which support US policies in the Caribbean. The end of aid from Moscow after 1991, following the collapse of the USSR, made conditions in Cuba increasingly difficult. The USA increased pressure on the Castro administration by tightening the rules of the trade embargo, including an effective ban on ships docking in the USA which had been in a Cuban port. Cuba has mustered support in the UN, as well as EU backing, for a lifting of the US embargo, but without effect. The USA has vetoed any UN debate, and will not abandon its stand until Cuba adopts a multiparty democracy.
Iran and the Russian Federation now take most of Cuba's sugar, in exchange for badly needed oil supplies. Iran is now one of Cuba's few supporters worldwide. Trade between the two countries has grown as the Moscow alliance declines in importance.
