Debating the trade embargo
Select one of the statements below and use it as the basis of a 750-word editorial on the American trade embargo against Cuba. Your editorial should expand on each of the points in the statement. Circulate the completed editorials among the class and vote on which editorial of each statement was most effective.
Statement 1: The embargo has been the mainstay of U.S. policy toward Castro's Cuba for four decades; ending it now would be an admission of defeat and would give Castro a huge propaganda victory. Ending the embargo also would help prop up Cuba's economy and thereby delay the fall of communism there. In addition, until the Cuban government grants political freedom to the people of Cuba, the United States has a moral responsibility to continue opposing the regime.
Statement 2: Though in place for four decades, the embargo has failed to push Castro from power. In fact, it has helped Castro tighten his grip on Cuba by isolating the country from outside influences; in the Soviet Union, in contrast, trade with free-market countries helped undermine Communist rule. Moreover, the embargo has caused great suffering among the Cuban people. It should be ended.